Duration of untreated psychiatry affecting white matter integrity in first-episode medication-free patients with schizophrenia

Objective To investigate the effects of duration of untreated psychiatry （DUP） on the white matter integrity in first-episode medication-free patients with schizophrenia. Methods The Chinese version of Nottingham Onset Schedule was used to assess the DUP of 39 first-episode medication-free patients with schizophrenia. According to the median of DUP, the 39 patients were grouped into long-DUP group and short-DUP group. Diffusion weighted images of the 39 patients＇ whole brains were acquired with a Half-Fourier Acquired Single-Shot Turbo Spin Echo （HASTE） sequence.After being preprocessed with DTI-studio and statistical parametric mapping software （SPM5）, the fractional anisotropy （FA） images of the 2 groups were compared by two-sample t-test with SPM5 software. The differences of gender, age, education level and total scores of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale （PANSS） scores between the 2 groups were also detected. Results No significant difference was noted on gender, age, education level, PANSS scores between the 2 groups （P〉0.05）.Subjects of long-DUP group showed significantly reduced FA value in the right anterior cingulate fasciculus （x=8, y=40, z=24） and left prefrontal white matter thresholded （x=32, y=34, z=4） as compared with that of short-DUP group at a level of P〈0.001 （uncorrected）. Conclusion Extension of the duration of DUP will reduce the white matter integrity in first-episode medication-free patients with schizophrenia. Key words: Schizophrenia;  Duration of untreated psychosis;  White matter;  Diffusion tensor imaging