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[Ultrastructural changes of myelinated fibers in the brain in continuous and attack-like paranoid schizophrenia]

N A Uranova1, N S Kolomeets1, O V Vikhreva1

  • 1Mental Health Research Centre, Moscow, Russia.

Zhurnal Nevrologii I Psikhiatrii Imeni S.S. Korsakova
|April 5, 2017
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Myelinated fiber pathology in schizophrenia, characterized by axonal atrophy and myelin sheath damage, is present in both continuous and attack-like forms. These abnormalities contribute to brain disconnectivity.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pathology
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Previous research identified ultrastructural pathology in brain myelinated fibers (MF) in schizophrenia.
  • Understanding the impact of disease course on MF pathology is crucial for schizophrenia research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the effects of continuous versus attack-like schizophrenia on the ultrastructural changes of myelinated fibers.
  • To investigate MF pathology in specific brain regions: prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, and hippocampus.

Main Methods:

  • Postmortem electron microscopic morphometric study of myelinated fibers (MF).
  • Analysis included 19 cases of paranoid schizophrenia (14 continuous, 5 attack-like) and 25 controls.
  • Pathological MF proportion estimated in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus (CA3), and caudate nucleus.

Main Results:

  • Both continuous and attack-like schizophrenia showed significantly higher percentages of MF with axonal atrophy and oligodendrocyte process swelling compared to controls.
  • Attack-like schizophrenia exhibited increased pathological MF in the hippocampus and caudate nucleus compared to continuous schizophrenia.
  • Continuous schizophrenia, but not attack-like, showed significantly increased MF with myelin sheath deformation and destruction in the prefrontal cortex.

Conclusions:

  • Myelinated fiber pathology is present in both continuous and attack-like schizophrenia, differing mainly in severity.
  • These MF abnormalities are implicated in the disconnectivity observed between the prefrontal cortex, caudate nucleus, and hippocampus in schizophrenia.

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