Structural integrity of grey and white matter in schizophrenic patients by diffusion tensor imaging

Abstract

Abstract Background Schizophrenia is a chronic disabling mental illness. A novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique known as diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a non-invasive and does not need external contrast materials. It is capable of identifying anomalies in the white matter micro-structure of the brain. This work conducted the DTI in schizophrenic patients to evaluate altered structural integrity in grey and white matter. Methods This prospective case control study was conducted on 25 schizophrenic patients selected from neuropsychiatric department, and 25 age/sex-matched healthy controls. Results Schizophrenic patients showed diminished fractional anisotropy in fornix, corpus callosum, right cingulum, right superior and inferior occipito-frontal fasciculi. Increased mean diffusivity in right inferior occipito-frontal fasciculus, corpus callosum, right thalamus and right basal ganglia were noted in schizophrenic patients. Fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity had a predictive value for detection of schizophrenic patients. Conclusions DTI of white and grey matter tracts is considered a promising tool for diagnosis of schizophrenic patients which usually have prolonged illness, chronic course and poor outcome.

Keywords

• Schizophrenia
• Diffusion tensor imaging
• Fractional anisotropy (FA)
• Mean diffusivity (MD)
• Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC)