Centre for Youth Bipolar Disorder, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.
Centre for Youth Bipolar Disorder, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.
J Psychosom Res. 2023 Dec;175:111529. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2023.111529. Epub 2023 Oct 15.
Reduced white matter integrity is observed in bipolar disorder (BD), and is associated with cardiovascular risk in adults. This topic is underexplored in youth, and in BD, where novel microvascular measures may help to inform understanding of the vascular-brain connection. We therefore examined the association of retinal vascular caliber with white matter integrity in a cross-sectional sample of adolescents with and without BD.
Eighty-four adolescents (n = 42 BD, n = 42 controls) completed retinal imaging, yielding arteriolar and venular caliber. Diffusion tensor imaging measured white matter fractional anisotropy (FA). Multiple linear regression tested associations between retinal vascular caliber and FA in regions-of-interest; corpus callosum, anterior thalamic radiation, uncinate fasciculus, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. Complementary voxel-wise analyses were performed.
Arteriolar caliber was elevated in adolescents with BD relative to controls (F(1,79) = 6.15, p = 0.02, η = 0.07). In the overall sample, higher venular caliber was significantly associated with lower corpus callosum FA (β = -0.24, p = 0.04). In voxel-wise analyses, higher arteriolar caliber was significantly associated with lower corpus callosum and forceps minor FA in the overall sample (β = -0.46, p = 0.03). A significant diagnosis-by-venular caliber interaction on FA was noted in 5 clusters including the right retrolenticular internal capsule (β = 0.72, p = 0.03), corticospinal tract (β = 0.72, p = 0.04), and anterior corona radiata (β = 0.63, p = 0.04). In each instance, venular caliber was more positively associated with FA in BD vs. controls.
Retinal microvascular measures are associated with white matter integrity in BD, particularly in the corpus callosum. This study was proof-of-concept, designed to guide future studies focused on the vascular-brain interface in BD.
双相障碍（BD）患者的白质完整性降低，与成年人的心血管风险相关。该主题在青少年和 BD 中研究不足，而新型微血管测量方法可能有助于深入了解血管-大脑连接。因此，我们在一组青少年的横断面样本中检查了视网膜血管口径与 BD 患者和无 BD 患者白质完整性之间的关联。
84 名青少年（n=42 名 BD，n=42 名对照）完成了视网膜成像，得出了动脉和静脉口径。弥散张量成像测量了白质各向异性分数（FA）。多元线性回归测试了 ROI 中视网膜血管口径与 FA 之间的关联；胼胝体、前丘脑辐射、钩束和上纵束。进行了补充体素分析。
与对照组相比，BD 青少年的动脉口径升高（F（1，79）=6.15，p=0.02，η=0.07）。在整个样本中，较高的静脉口径与胼胝体 FA 较低显著相关（β=-0.24，p=0.04）。在体素分析中，较高的动脉口径与整个样本中胼胝体和小钳 FA 较低显著相关（β=-0.46，p=0.03）。在 FA 上注意到诊断-静脉口径交互作用显著的 5 个簇，包括右视放射内囊（β=0.72，p=0.03）、皮质脊髓束（β=0.72，p=0.04）和前冠状辐射（β=0.63，p=0.04）。在每种情况下，与对照组相比，静脉口径与 BD 中的 FA 更呈正相关。
视网膜微血管测量与 BD 中的白质完整性相关，特别是在胼胝体中。这项研究是概念验证，旨在指导未来专注于 BD 中血管-大脑界面的研究。
