The abnormality of white matter and correlation with clinical symptoms in chronic schizophrenia

Objective To investigate the abnormality of white matter by diffusion tensor imaging （DTI） and correlation with clinical symptoms in chronic schizophrenia. Methods Twenty-two chronic schizophrenia patients and 16 age-，gender- and education-matched healthy controls were recruited. Correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between abnormal brain regions and clinical symptoms of chronic schizophrenia. Results Compared with controls, patients had significant increased fractional analysis （FA） in right cerebrum middle temporal gyrus（t=4.64,P<0.001） and decreased FA in left cerebrum inferior frontal gyrus（t=-5.41,P<0.001）, right cerebrum superior temporal gyrus（t=-4.57,P<0.001）, right cerebrum transverse temporal gyrus（t=-4.30,P<0.001）, right cerebrum hippocampal gyrus（t=-4.08 P<0.001）, and left insular lobe（t=-4.13,P<0.001）. The FA of right cerebrum superior temporal gyrus（r=-0.538，P=0.01）,right cerebrum transverse temporal gyrus （r=-0.507，P=0.016）and right cerebrum hippocampal gyrus（r=-0.434，P=0.043）had significantly negative correlation with illness duration. Conclusions Chronic schizophrenia patients might have white matter abnormalities. Key words: Schizophrenia; Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging; Fractional analysis