White matter microstructural changes and episodic memory disturbances in late-onset bipolar disorder

  • Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) has been associated with distributed network disruption, but little is known on how different clinical subtypes, particularly those with an earlier and later onset of disease, are related to connectivity changes in white matter (WM) tracts. Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and volumetric measures were carried out in early-onset bipolar patients [(EOD) (n = 16)], late-onset bipolar disorder [(LOD)(n = 14)] and healthy controls (n = 32). We also computed ROI analysis of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes using the regions with significant group differences in the DTI parameters. Cognitive and behavior measurements were analyzed between groups. Results: Lower fraction of anisotropy (FA) in the right hemisphere comprising anterior thalamic radiation, fornix, posterior cingulate, internal capsule, splenium of corpus callosum was observed in the LOD in comparison with EOD; additionally, lower FA was also found in the LOD in comparison with healthy controls, mostly in the right hemisphere and comprising fibers of the splenium of the corpus callosum, cingulum, superior frontal gyrus and posterior thalamic radiation; LOD also showed worse episodic memory performance than EOD; no statistical significant differences between mood symptoms, WM and GM volumes were found between BD groups. Conclusion: Even after correcting for age differences, LOD was associated with more extensive WM microstructural changes and worse episodic memory performance than EOD; these findings suggest that changes in the WM fiber integrity may be associated with a later presentation of BD, possibly due to mechanisms other than neuroprogression. However, these findings deserve replication in larger, prospective, studies.

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Author:Gilberto Sousa Alves, Christian Knöchel, Michael Anton Paulitsch, Britta Reinke, André Férrer Carvalho, Richard Feddern, David Prvulovic, Felipe Sudo, Johannes PantelORCiDGND, Andreas ReifORCiDGND, Viola Oertel-KnöchelGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-518951
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00480
ISSN:1664-0640
Pubmed Id:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30356890
Parent Title (English):Frontiers in psychiatry
Publisher:Frontiers Research Foundation
Place of publication:Lausanne
Contributor(s):Elie Cheniaux
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2018
Date of first Publication:2018/10/09
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2019/12/11
Tag:DTI; TBSS; aging; bipolar disorders; cognition; white-matter
Volume:9
Issue:Art. 480
Page Number:9
First Page:1
Last Page:9
Note:
Copyright © 2018 Alves, Knöchel, Paulitsch, Reinke, Carvalho, Feddern, Prvulovic, Sudo, Pantel, Reif and Oertel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
HeBIS-PPN:458142832
Institutes:Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften / Psychologie
Medizin / Medizin
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung 4.0