Linke and collaborators published in Bipolar Disorders (December 2019) the results of a whole-brain Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) study that measured fractional anisotropy (FA) (as a marker of white matter structure abnormalities) in youths with BD, non-BD first-degree relatives of individuals with BD (i.e. "at risk" individuals) and healthy controls (HC) (1). The authors reported a significant decrease of FA, mainly in the left CorticoSpinal Tract (CST) and in the body of the Corpus Callosum (CC) in individuals with BD, and in those at risk for BD, as compared to HC. Furthermore, reduced FA in the Anterior Thalamic Radiation (ATR) correlated with impaired emotion regulation in the entire sample. This study elegantly reinforces the growing literature that suggests alterations of white matter abnormalities as vulnerability factors to BD. Interestingly, this study supports the hypothesis that such alterations should be considered as potential endophenotypes of BD, because similarly observed in non-BD first-degree relatives. The authors concluded that abnormalities in the microstructure of some specific brain circuits might identify a "trait marker" of BD.

中文翻译：

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双相情感障碍中的白质结构异常：脑部创伤性脱节吗？

Linke和合作者在《双相情感障碍》（2019年12月）中发表了全脑扩散张量成像（DTI）研究的结果，该研究测量了患有BD，非BD的年轻人的分数各向异性（FA）（作为白质结构异常的标志）患有BD的人（即“处于危险中”的人）和健康对照者（HC）的一级亲属（1）。作者报告说，与HC相比，患有BD的人以及有BD风险的人的FA显着降低，主要在左皮质脊髓区（CST）和Call体（CC）体内。此外，前丘脑辐射（ATR）中的FA降低与整个样本中的情绪调节受损有关。这项研究优雅地强化了越来越多的文献，这些文献表明白质异常的改变是对BD的易感性因素。有趣的是，这项研究支持这样的假设，即这种改变应被视为BD的潜在内表型，因为在非BD一级亲属中也观察到类似情况。作者得出的结论是，某些特定大脑回路的微结构异常可能是BD的“特征标记”。