Influence of More Than 5 Years of Continuous Exposure to Antipsychotics on Cerebral Functional Connectivity of Chronic Schizophrenia.

Qi Miao, Chengcheng Pu, Zhijiang Wang, Chao-Gan Yan, Chuan Shi, Qingjiu Cao, Xijin Wang, Zhang Cheng, Xue Han, Lei Yang, Yunyao Lai, Yanbo Yuan, Hong Ma, Keqing Li, Nan Hong, Xin Yu

Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie 2020 Jul

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To explore the effect of long-term antipsychotics use on the strength of functional connectivity (FC) in the brains of patients with chronic schizophrenia. We collected resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging from 15 patients with continuously treated chronic schizophrenia (TCS), 19 patients with minimally TCS (MTCS), and 20 healthy controls (HCs). Then, we evaluated and compared the whole-brain FC strength (FCS; including full-range, short-range, and long-range FCS) among patients with TCS, MTCS, and HCs. Patients with TCS and MTCS showed reduced full-/short-range FC compared with the HCs. No significant differences in the whole-brain FCS (including full-range, short-range, and long-range FCS) or clinical characteristics were identified between patients with TCS and MTCS. Additionally, the FCS in the right fusiform gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, and right inferior occipital gyrus negatively correlated with the duration of illness and positively correlated with onset age across all patients with chronic schizophrenia. Regardless of the long-term use of antipsychotics, patients with chronic schizophrenia show decreased FC compared with healthy individuals. For some patients with chronic schizophrenia, the influence of long-term and minimal/short-term antipsychotic exposure on resting-state FC was similar. The decreased full- and short-range FCS in the right fusiform gyrus, right inferior temporal gyrus, and right inferior occipital gyrus may be an ongoing pathological process that is not altered by antipsychotic interventions in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Large-sample, long-term follow-up studies are still needed for further exploration.

Citation

Qi Miao, Chengcheng Pu, Zhijiang Wang, Chao-Gan Yan, Chuan Shi, Qingjiu Cao, Xijin Wang, Zhang Cheng, Xue Han, Lei Yang, Yunyao Lai, Yanbo Yuan, Hong Ma, Keqing Li, Nan Hong, Xin Yu. Influence of More Than 5 Years of Continuous Exposure to Antipsychotics on Cerebral Functional Connectivity of Chronic Schizophrenia. Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie. 2020 Jul;65(7):463-472