Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:33:40.380Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is there an association between cortical thickness, age of onset, and duration of illness in schizophrenia?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 June 2013

Idaiane Batista Assunção Leme ,
Ary Gadelha ,
João Ricardo Sato ,
Vanessa Kiyomi Ota ,
Jair de Jesus Mari ,
Maria Isabel Melaragno ,
Marilia de Arruda Cardoso Smith ,
Sintia Iole Nogueira Belangero ,
Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan  and
Andrea Parolin Jackowski
Idaiane Batista Assunção Leme*
Affiliation:
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas (LiNC), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Ary Gadelha
Affiliation:
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas (LiNC) and Programa de Esquizofrenia (PROESQ), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
João Ricardo Sato
Affiliation:
Center of Mathematics, Computation and Cognition, Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Santo André, Brazil
Vanessa Kiyomi Ota
Affiliation:
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas (LiNC) and Morphology and Genetics Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Jair de Jesus Mari
Affiliation:
Psychiatry Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Maria Isabel Melaragno
Affiliation:
Morphology and Genetics Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Marilia de Arruda Cardoso Smith
Affiliation:
Morphology and Genetics Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Sintia Iole Nogueira Belangero
Affiliation:
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas (LiNC) and Morphology and Genetics Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan
Affiliation:
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas (LiNC) and Programa de Esquizofrenia (PROESQ), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
Andrea Parolin Jackowski
Affiliation:
Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas (LiNC), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, Brazil
*
*Address for correspondence: Idaiane Batista Assunção Leme, Laboratório Interdisciplinar de Neurociências Clínicas (LiNC), Departamento de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo, 669 - 3° andar (fundos), Vila Clementino, São Paulo, SP CEP: 04039-032, Brazil. (Email idaiane@gmail.com)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

Several studies have shown cortical volume loss in frontotemporal regions in schizophrenia patients, and it is known that these reductions may be associated with disease symptoms and cognitive deficits. The aim of this study was to investigate possible cortical thickness correlations in frontotemporal regions in relation to age at onset and duration of illness.

Methods

One hundred forty-eight schizophrenia patients (97 males; age and SD 36.30 ± 10.06) and 87 (57 males; age and SD 36.48 ± 10.10) age-matched healthy subjects underwent a brain MRI scan. Cortical segmentation and surface statistical analysis were performed using the FreeSurfer software package. Results were corrected for multiple comparisons using the Monte Carlo method considering a cluster-corrected Type I Error of 5%.

Results

Compared to controls, schizophrenia patients presented significant cortical thinning in the frontotemporal, parietal, and occipital cortices. No correlation between prefrontal cortex thickness and duration of illness in patients with schizophrenia or between frontotemporal cortical thickness and age at onset was found. However, a significant interaction between age and diagnosis was observed on frontal cortical thickness with patients presenting a thinner cortex than expected for age.

Conclusion

Although there was no correlation between age of onset and duration of illness with brain volume, our findings suggest that there is an accelerated cortical loss in schizophrenia, thus reinforcing the progressive processes of the disease.

Keywords

Ageage at onsetcortical thicknessduration of illnessfrontal lobeschizophrenia
Type
Original Research
Information
CNS Spectrums , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , December 2013 , pp. 315 - 321
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

We would like to thank Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil), Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Ensino Superior (CAPES, Brazil), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP, Brazil; grant number n° 07/58736-1) for the financial support. We also thank the patients, their families, psychiatrists, psychologists, and nurses for their participation in this study.

References

1.Jung, WH, Kim, JS, Jang, JH, etal. Cortical thickness reduction in individuals at ultra-high-risk for psychosis. Schizophr Bull. 2011; 37(4): 839–849.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Honea, R, Crow, T, Passingham, D, Mackay, CE. Regional deficits in brain volume in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies. Am J Psychiatry. 2005; 162(12): 2233–2245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Kuperberg, GR, Broome, MR, McGuire, PK, etal. Regionally localized thinning of the cerebral cortex in schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2003; 60(9): 878–888.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Nesvåg, R, Lawyer, G, Varnäs, K, etal. Regional thinning of the cerebral cortex in schizophrenia: effects of diagnosis, age and antipsychotic medication. Schizophr Res. 2008; 98(1–3): 16–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Wright, IC, Rabe-Hesketh, S, Woodruff, PW, etal. Meta-analysis of regional brain volumes in schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2000; 157(1): 16–25.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Lieberman, J, Chakos, M, Wu, H, etal. Longitudinal study of brain morphology in first episode schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry. 2001; 49(6): 487–499.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.DeLisi, LE, Sakuma, M, Maurizio, AM, etal. Cerebral ventricular change over the first 10 years after the onset of schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res. 2004; 130(1): 57–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Vita, A, De Peri, L, Silenzi, C, etal. Brain morphology in first-episode schizophrenia: a meta-analysis of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging studies. Schizophr Res. 2006; 82(1): 75–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Crespo-Facorro, B, Roiz-Santianez, R, Perez-Iglesias, R, etal. Specific brain structural abnormalities in first-episode schizophrenia: a comparative study with patients with schizophreniform disorder, non-schizophrenic non-affective psychoses and healthy volunteers. Schizophr Res. 2009; 115(2–3): 191–201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Crespo-Facorro, B, Roiz-Santianez, R, Perez-Iglesias, R, etal. Global and regional cortical thinning in first-episode psychosis patients: relationships with clinical and cognitive features. Psychol Med. 2011; 41(7): 1449–1460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Olabi, B, Ellison-Wright, I, McIntosh, AM, etal. Are there progressive brain changes in schizophrenia? A meta-analysis of structural magnetic resonance imaging studies. Biol Psychiatry. 2011; 70(1): 88–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Weinberger, DR, McClure, RK. Neurotoxicity, neuroplasticity, and magnetic resonance imaging morphometry: what is happening in the schizophrenic brain? Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2002; 59(6): 553–558.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Kähler, AK, Rimol, LM, Brown, AA, etal. Effect of DISC1 SNPs on brain structure in healthy controls and patients with a history of psychosis. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet. 2012; 159B(6): 722–730.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Dorph-Petersen, KA, Pierri, JN, Perel, JM, etal. The influence of chronic exposure to antipsychotic medications on brain size before and after tissue fixation: a comparison of haloperidol and olanzapine in macaque monkeys. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005; 30(9): 1649–1661.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Roiz-Santiáñez, R, Tordesillas-Gutiérrez, D, Ortíz-García de la Foz, V, etal. Effect of antipsychotic drugs on cortical thickness: a randomized controlled one-year follow-up study of haloperidol, risperidone and olanzapine. Schizophr Res. In press. DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2012.07.014.Google Scholar
16.Fischl, B, Dale, AM. Measuring the thickness of the human cerebral cortex from magnetic resonance images. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000; 97(20): 11050–11055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Schultz, CC, Koch, K, Wagner, G, etal. Complex pattern of cortical thinning in schizophrenia: results from an automated surface based analysis of cortical thickness. Psychiatry Res. 2010; 182(2): 134–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Premkumar, P, Kumari, V, Corr, PJ, etal. Frontal lobe volumes in schizophrenia: effects of stage and duration of illness. J Psychiatr Res. 2006; 40(7): 627–637.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Matsumoto, H, Simmons, A, Williams, S, etal. Superior temporal gyrus abnormalities in early-onset schizophrenia: similarities and differences with adult-onset schizophrenia. Am J Psychiatry. 2001; 158(8): 1299–1304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.van Haren, NE, Schnack, HG, Cahn, W, etal. Changes in cortical thickness during the course of illness in schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011; 68(9): 871–880.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.van Haren, NE, Cahn, W, Hulshoff Pol, HE, Kahn, RS. Confounders of excessive brain volume loss in schizophrenia. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. In press. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.09.006.Google Scholar
22.Bose, SK, Mackinnon, T, Mehta, MA, etal. The effect of ageing on grey and white matter reductions in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2009; 112(1–3): 7–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Fischl, B, Salat, DH, Busa, E, etal. Whole brain segmentation: automated labeling of neuroanatomical structures in the human brain. Neuron. 2002; 33(3): 341–355.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Dale, AM, Fischl, B, Sereno, MI. Cortical surface-based analysis. II: inflation, flattening, and a surface-based coordinate system. Neuroimage. 1999; 9(2): 195–207.Google Scholar
25.Fischl, B, Dale, AM. Measuring the thickness of the human cerebral cortex from magnetic resonance images. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000; 97(20): 11050–11055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26.Panizzon, MS, Fennema-Notestine, C, Eyler, LT, etal. Distinct genetic influences on cortical surface area and cortical thickness. Cereb Cortex. 2009; 19(11): 2728–2735.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.Ecker, C, Marquand, A, Mourão-Miranda, J, etal. Describing the brain in autism in five dimensions: magnetic resonance imagingassisted diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder using a multiparameter classification approach. J Neurosci. 2010; 30(32): 10612–10623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Huttenlocher, PR. Morphometric study of human cerebral cortexdevelopment. Neuropsychologia. 1990; 28(6): 517–527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29.Sowell, ER, Thompson, PM, Leonard, CM, etal. Longitudinal mapping of cortical thickness and brain growth in normal children. J Neurosci. 2004; 24(38): 8223–8231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.Rakic, P. Defects of neuronal migration and the pathogenesis of cortical malformations. Prog Brain Res. 1988; 73: 15–37.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31.Armstrong, E, Schleicher, A, Omran, H, Curtis, M, Zilles, K. The ontogeny of human gyrification. Cereb Cortex. 1995; 5(1): 56–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32.Kubota, M, Miyata, J, Yohida, H, etal. Age-related cortical thinning in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2011; 125(1): 21–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33.McGinnis, SM, Brickhouse, M, Pascual, B, Dickerson, BC. Age-related changes in the thickness of cortical zones in humans. Brain Topogr. 2011; 24(1): 279–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34.Velakoulis, D, Wood, SJ, Smith, DJ, etal. Increased duration of illness is associated with reduced volume in right medial temporal/anterior cingulate grey matter in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2002; 57(1): 43–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35.Premkumar, P, Fannon, D, Kuipers, E, etal. Association between a longer duration of illness, age and lower frontal lobe grey matter volume in schizophrenia. Behav Brain Res. 2008; 193(1): 132–139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.Kumra, S, Schulz, SC. Editorial: research progress in early-onset schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 2008; 34(1): 15–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37.Berberian, AA, Trevisan, BT, Moriyama, TS, etal. Working memory assessment in schizophrenia and its correlation with executive functions ability. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 2009; 31(3): 219–226.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38.Goldman-Rakic, PS, Selemon, LD. Functional and anatomical aspects of prefrontal pathology in schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull. 1997; 23(3): 437–458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed