White matter microstructural abnormalities in first-episode medication-free patients with schizophrenia based on inter-voxel and intra-voxel diffusivity metrics
10.3760/cma.j.cn115354-20220728-00529
- VernacularTitle:基于体素间和体素内弥散指标对首发未服药精神分裂症患者脑白质微观结构的研究
- Author:
Man XU
1
;
Kangkang XUE
;
Junying CHENG
;
Xueqin SONG
;
Yong ZHANG
;
Jingliang CHENG
Author Information
1. 郑州大学第一附属医院磁共振科，郑州 450052
- Keywords:
Schizophrenia;
Diffusion tensor imaging;
Local diffusion homogeneity;
White matter
- From:
Chinese Journal of Neuromedicine
2022;21(10):973-980
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the microstructural abnormalities of the white matter in first-episode medication-free patients with schizophrenia (FESZ) based on inter-voxel diffusivity metric local diffusion homogeneity (LDH) and traditional intra-voxel diffusivity metric.Methods:A total of 56 FESZ patients admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to December 2021 were selected as research subjects, and 64 healthy volunteers recruited during the same period were selected as healthy controls. All subjects accepted magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging, and the LDH, anisotropy fraction (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) were obtained by FSL and PANDA software. Tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method was employed to analyze and compare the differences in the diffusivity metrics of white matter fibers between the two groups. For white matter fiber tracts with significant inter-group differences, receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of each diffusivity metric in FESZ, and Spearman partial correlation was used to analyze the relation between each diffusivity metric and positive and negative symptom scale (PANSS) scores.Results:As compared with that in the heathy control group, LDH in partial voxel clusters in bilateral anterior thalamic radiation of the FESZ group was statistically increased ( P<0.05, FWE correction). As compared with that in the heathy control group, the mean LDH in the tracts of interest (TOI) of the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus and the right uncinate fasciculus in the FESZ group was significantly increased ( P<0.05, FDR correction). In the above 4 fasciculi, ROC analysis showed that LDH had diagnostic efficacy ( P<0.05), and the diagnostic efficacy of LDH was the highest when the fasciculi structures were combined (AUC=0.733, P<0.001). LDH in white matter fiber tracts with significant inter-group differences had no statistical correlation with PANSS scores ( P>0.05). No voxel clusters or TOIs enjoyed statistical differences between groups were noted in the FA, MD, AD and RD parameter maps ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The inter-voxel diffusivity metric LDH can detect the compensatory changes of white matter microstructure in FESZ patients that could not be detected by traditional intra-voxel diffusivity metric.
