Department of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK.
Psychiatry Res. 2012 Nov 30;204(2-3):75-81. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2012.10.006.
Hypothalamic abnormalities in schizophrenia have been associated with endocrine dysfunctions and stress response. The hypothalamus is involved in several pathways found disrupted in schizophrenia (e.g., hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, HPA axis); however the available results on potential structural hypothalamic alterations are still controversial. The aim of the study was to investigate the volumes of the hypothalamus and the mammillary bodies in patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls. Twenty-six patients with schizophrenia and 26 healthy controls underwent a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Hypothalamus and mammillary bodies were manually traced by a rater who was blind to subjects' identity. The General Linear Model was used in group comparisons of the volumes of the hypothalamus and the mammillary bodies. The hypothalamus and mammillary body volumes were significantly larger in patients with schizophrenia than controls, with significant enlargement of the left hypothalamus and trends for significantly increased right hypothalamus and right mammillary body. The size of the mammillary bodies was inversely correlated with negative symptoms and directly correlated with anxiety. This study showed abnormally increased sizes of the hypothalamus and the mammillary bodies in schizophrenia. Mammillary bodies volumes were associated to negative symptoms and anxiety. Future longitudinal studies on the volumes of the hypothalamus and the mammillary bodies with respect to the levels of related hormones will clarify their role in modulating HPA axis in schizophrenia.
精神分裂症患者的下丘脑异常与内分泌功能障碍和应激反应有关。下丘脑参与了几种在精神分裂症中发现的异常途径（例如，下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴，HPA 轴）；然而，关于潜在的结构性下丘脑改变的现有结果仍存在争议。本研究旨在探讨精神分裂症患者和健康对照者下丘脑和乳头体的体积。26 名精神分裂症患者和 26 名健康对照者接受了 3 特斯拉磁共振成像（MRI）扫描。下丘脑和乳头体由一名对受试者身份不知情的评分者手动追踪。使用一般线性模型比较下丘脑和乳头体体积的组间差异。精神分裂症患者的下丘脑和乳头体体积明显大于对照组，左侧下丘脑明显增大，右侧下丘脑和右侧乳头体有增大的趋势。乳头体的大小与阴性症状呈负相关，与焦虑呈正相关。这项研究表明精神分裂症患者的下丘脑和乳头体体积异常增大。乳头体体积与阴性症状和焦虑有关。关于相关激素的下丘脑和乳头体体积的未来纵向研究将阐明它们在调节精神分裂症中 HPA 轴的作用。
