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Effects of menopause on brain structural changes in schizophrenia
Author(s) -
Fukuta Hajime,
Ito Itsuo,
Tateno Amane,
Nogami Tsuyoshi,
Taiji Yasutomo,
Arakawa Ryosuke,
Suhara Tetsuya,
Asai Kunihiko,
Okubo Yoshiro
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
psychiatry and clinical neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1440-1819
pISSN - 1323-1316
DOI - 10.1111/pcn.12003
Subject(s) - parahippocampal gyrus , menopause , statistical parametric mapping , limbic lobe , insula , brain morphometry , voxel based morphometry , superior frontal gyrus , white matter , magnetic resonance imaging , psychology , gyrus , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , medicine , superior temporal gyrus , medial frontal gyrus , voxel , neuroscience , psychiatry , radiology , functional magnetic resonance imaging , temporal lobe , epilepsy
Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the influences of menopause on brain morphological changes in schizophrenia using magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ). Methods Forty female schizophrenia patients, 20 premenopausal and 20 postmenopausal, and 50 female controls underwent cerebral MRI . Optimized voxel‐based morphometry was performed with Statistical Parametric Mapping version 5. Results Compared with controls, regional gray matter reductions in schizophrenia patients were observed in the insula, superior temporal gyrus, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus, and thalamus. Direct comparison between the patient groups showed that the gray matter of postmenopausal patients was significantly smaller when compared with premenopausal patients in the left middle frontal gyrus, and no region had significantly lower gray matter volume in premenopausal patients relative to postmenopausal patients. Significant negative correlation between gray matter volume and the interval after menopause was found in the right superior frontal gyrus in the postmenopause patient group. Conclusion Differential morphological alterations between postmenopausal and premenopausal schizophrenia patients were observed, suggesting that the female hormone plays a protective role against schizophrenia.