[Internal capsule integrity and its sex-related structural differences in early-onset schizophrenia - diffusion tensor imaging study].

OBJECTIVES In schizophrenia, the most repeatable DTI findings concern reduced FA in temporal and frontal lobes with associated abnormalities in connecting neural fibers. The goal of study was to evaluate the differences in FA of the internal capsule in EOS-patients and healthy controls and to place emphasis on the sex as a potential factor determining a predominant pathological pattern of described changes. METHODS 30 EOS patients and 30 healthy controls were studied using DTI. FA measures within internal capsules were performed in selected ROIs. For statistical analyses the one-way ANOVA test was used (p<0.05). RESULTS Significant differences of FA between EOS-patients and controls in the right ALIC with lower values of FA in EOS were observed. Within the women sub-groups, statistical differences of FA were observed only for the right ALIC. There were no statistically significant differences within men sub-groups. CONCLUSIONS 1. Statistically significant differences were found between EOS - subjects (subgroups of woman only) and the control group within the WM diffusivity of the brain in the right ALIC. 2. These results indicate possible involvement of the structures of internal capsule in the EOS development.