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Biomedical subjects

I Agartz

Publications and source records attributed to I Agartz.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Craniofacial dysmorphology in Swedish schizophrenia patients.

OBJECTIVE: To perform detailed assessments of craniofacial dysmorphology in individuals with schizophrenia and controls in Sweden, in order to further elucidate the neurodevelopmental origins of schizophrenia. METHOD: We performed detailed, anthropometric assessments of craniofacial dysmorphology in male patients with schizophrenia (n=24), healthy controls (n=16), and patients' siblings with schizophrenia (n=2) in Sweden, while remaining as blind as possible to schizophrenia/control status. RESULTS: Individuals with schizophrenia evidenced significantly more craniofacial dysmorphology than controls, especially in the ears and mouth. At a group level, there was a dose-response type relationship between total dysmorphology score and patient/control status. CONCLUSION: The consistency of results across multiple studies supports the hypothesis that individuals with schizophrenia have increased rates of prenatal developmental disturbances. The presence of a dose-response type relationship between total dysmorphology score and patient/control status supports the importance of neurodevelopmental disturbance as a contributory cause of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Abnormal brain white matter in schizophrenia: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

Fractional anisotropy and the mean diffusion coefficient were measured in the cerebral volume in 20 schizophrenic and 24 healthy subjects, men and women, using diffusion tensor imaging. In addition, 3D SPGR was used for segmentation of brain tissue into grey and white matter and cerebrospinal fluid. In schizophrenic patients, fractional anisotropy was reduced in the splenium of the corpus callosum and in adjacent occipital white matter. The segmentation revealed no tissue deficits in the volume of reduced fractional anisotropy. The mean diffusion was increased in the total white and grey matter volume of the schizophrenic patients compared with the healthy subjects. The findings support the view that global and regional white matter abnormalities occur in chronic schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Reliability and reproducibility of brain tissue volumetry from segmented MR scans.

Reliable measurement of different tissue volumes in the living brain is of great importance for human brain research. In this article, we report on the inter- and intraoperator reliability and scan-rescan reproducibility of segmented intracranial tissue volumes from MR images using the image analysis software suite BRAINS. The absolute data of tissue volume measurements are also presented. The reliability and consistency of the measurements of the segmented volumes were excellent. The segmentation is robust and rapid and the volume measurements are plausible and suitable for quantitative studies in clinical brain research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Neuroimaging in alcoholism: ethanol and brain damage.

This article represents the proceedings of a symposium at the 2000 ISBRA Meeting in Yokohama, Japan. The co-chairs were Karl Mann and Ingrid Agartz. The presentations were (1) Neuropathological changes in alcohol-related brain damage, by Clive Harper; (2) Regional brain volumes including the hippocampus and monoamine metabolites in alcohol dependence, by Ingrid Agartz, Susan Shoaf, Robert R, Rawlings, Reza Momenan, and Daniel W Hommer; (3) Diffusion tensor abnormalities in imaging of white matter alcoholism, by Adolf Pfefferbaum and Edith V. Sullivan; (4) Use of functional MRI to evaluate brain activity during alcohol cue exposure in alcoholics: Relationship to craving, by Raymond F. Anton, David J. Drobes, and Mark S. George; and (5) mu-Opiate receptor availability in alcoholism: First results from a positron emission tomography study, by Karl Mann, Roland Bares, Hans-Juergen Machulla, Goetz Mundle, Matthias Reimold, and Andreas Heinz.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1999

Hippocampal volume in patients with alcohol dependence.

BACKGROUND: Smaller hippocampal volumes have been reported in the brains of alcoholic patients than in those of healthy subjects, although it is unclear if the hippocampus is disproportionally smaller than the brain as a whole. There is evidence that alcoholic women are more susceptible than alcoholic men to liver and cardiac damage from alcohol. It is not known whether the hippocampi of the female brain are more vulnerable to alcohol. METHODS: We compared the hippocampal volumes in 52 hospitalized alcoholic men and women with those of 36 healthy nonalcoholic men and women. All subjects were between 27 and 53 years of age. The hippocampal volumes were measured from sagittal T-weighted high-resolution magnetic resonance images. RESULTS: The alcoholic women had less lifetime drinking and a later age at onset of heavy drinking than alcoholic men. Both alcoholic men and women had significantly smaller right hippocampi and larger cerebrospinal fluid volumes than healthy subjects of the same sex. Only among women were the left hippocampus and the nonhippocampal brain volume also significantly smaller. The proportion of hippocampal volume relative to the rest of the brain volume was the same in alcoholic patients and healthy subjects, in both men and women. The right hippocampus was larger than the left among all subjects. Women demonstrated larger hippocampal volumes relative to total brain volume than men. Psychiatric comorbidity, including posttraumatic stress disorder, did not affect hippocampal volume. CONCLUSIONS: In chronic alcoholism, the reduction of hippocampal volume is proportional to the reduction of the brain volume. Alcohol consumption should be accounted for in studies of hippocampal damage.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Visual rating of magnetic resonance images of human cerebrospinal fluid spaces and white brain matter: relation to sex and age in healthy volunteers.

The size of the cerebrospinal fluid spaces and the occurrence of white matter lesions were estimated from the intracranial volumes of 76 apparently healthy adult volunteers of different ages using 0.02-T/0.8-MHz magnetic resonance imaging. A relation between the occurrence of white matter lesions and the size of cerebrospinal fluid spaces independent of age could not be demonstrated. In men, white matter changes were more numerous and lateral ventricular size was larger, but sex differences were not statistically significant except for lateral ventricular size. The results confirm that age is the most significant parameter correlated with alterations in brain anatomy over time. Body mass and other clinical parameters were not influential factors in the present material.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Quantitative estimations of cerebrospinal fluid spaces and brain regions in healthy controls using computer-assisted tissue classification of magnetic resonance images: relation to age and sex.

Computer-assisted tissue classification based on MR intensity values in spin echo and inversion recovery images were used for area measurements of different brain structures in 76 apparently healthy volunteers of various ages. The classification was made from transaxial sections through the basal ganglia and discriminated between brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid. The measurements based on this discrimination demonstrated larger intracranial areas in men than women. In the total group, sex differences were not observed when the measured structures were corrected for interindividual differences in cranial size. In subjects older than 60 years relative lateral ventricular area was larger and relative brain area smaller in men than women. The lateral ventricles, the Sylvian fissures and the brain area showed the most marked relation to age. The age-relation was more marked for left hemispheric structures.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

MRI in psychiatry: 731 cases.

The frequency of brain pathology found in the 731 patients who underwent MRI scans in the present study was higher than expected on the basis of reports in the literature (Owens et al., 1980). This underlines the value of a simple MRI examination as an effective diagnostic complement in the investigation of patients with psychiatric symptoms that may have an underlying organic basis.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

T1 and T2 relaxation time estimates and brain measures during withdrawal in alcoholic men.

Twenty-four chronic alcoholic men were investigated with 0.02 Tesla/0.8 MHz magnetic resonance imaging on days 7-9 of acute alcohol withdrawal state. Estimates of T1 and T2 relaxation times were obtained from the white matter and basal ganglia nuclei in an axial section. This section was also used for area measurements of intracranial structures using computer-assisted tissue classification. The relation between T1 and age was more marked in the alcoholic patients than in the control group. Mean values of T1 and T2 did not differ between the two groups, but differences in the age dependence of T1 were highly significant for all regions. The number of years of drinking was influential to T1, but to a lesser extent than age. Lateral ventricular area correlated significantly with T1 of the white matter in the alcoholic patients. Using visual ratings of the entire intracranial volume the alcoholic patients demonstrated wider lateral ventricles and cortical sulci, but there was no increased frequency of white matter lesions.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

T1 and T2 relaxation time estimates in the normal human brain.

Magnetic resonance (MR) relaxation time constants T1 and T2 were estimated in frontal and occipital white matter, the caudate nucleus, and the thalamus nucleus in 79 healthy subjects aged 19-85 years. The in vivo estimates were obtained with 0.02-T and 0.8-MHz MR imaging. T1 values were estimated from a series of inversion-recovery images and T2 values from spin-echo images with a single-section, single-echo technique. Although estimates were obtained from only one section, the investigated regions were distinguished from each other by the T1 values. With a polynomial regression test, the T1 data fit a cradle-shaped relation to age, with minimal values at ages 40-45 years. Sex and laterality did not influence the age-dependency results, but differences in the age-dependence curves for men and women were seen. The inclusion of 10 individuals with somatic disorders did not alter the findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Cerebral abnormalities in Wilson's disease as evaluated by ultra-low-field magnetic resonance imaging and computerized image processing.

The cerebral involvement of a 13-yr-old boy with Wilson's disease was serially evaluated during the first 18 mo of D-penicillamine treatment. An ultra-low-field magnetic resonance imaging (ULF MRI) system, operating at 0.02 T, with computerized image processing was used. The half-yr period prior to the clinical diagnosis was set, the patient had showed poor school performance, emotional lability, deteriorating handwriting, progressively slow, gross, and fine motor functions, and a fixed rigid smile. No overt signs of liver disease were found. With D-penicillamine treatment (1-1.5 g/d) a continuous improvement was seen. The pretreatment MRI investigation showed pronounced pathological transformation in the basal ganglia. However, changes were seen also in most other parts of the brain indicating diffuse involvement. During treatment the computerized MR images became gradually more normal. The current magnetic resonance imaging system with computerized image processing is a sensitive and simple method for evaluation of subtle parenchymal changes of the brain.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The brain in healthy aged individuals: MR imaging.

Twenty-four healthy aged individuals with above-average intellectual function were studied with use of a low-field-strength (0.02-T) magnetic resonance (MR) imager. The group was carefully selected so as not to include persons with signs of arteriosclerotic diseases, major somatic disease, or a history of brain disease or dementia in the family. The width of the subarachnoid spaces and lateral ventricles, as well as the frequency and degree of brain white-matter lesions, were described with the use of a visual rating scale. White matter lesions were found in less than 9% of the subjects. The lateral brain ventricles were enlarged in 8% of all individuals and the cortical cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces in more than 40% of all individuals. Moreover, T1 and T2 were estimated in different brain areas, and a positive correlation between T1 in the frontal white matter and age was found. A computer-assisted classification procedure was used to estimate brain tissue and CSF areas. The results of this procedure strongly correlated with the visually estimated ventricular size.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

[Magnetic resonance tomography in psychiatry--clear benefits for health care services].

The use of MRI in clinical psychiatry is evaluated on the basis of over four years' experience. Of 931 psychiatric patients examined, 156 were found to manifest pathological cerebral conditions, a frequency of 17 per cent, as compared with 2 per cent (2/101) among apparently healthy controls. The occurrence of intracerebral lesions, with exclusively psychiatric symptoms, is illustrated with case reports. The importance is stressed of early examination with neurodiagnostic imaging techniques in cases of psychiatric disorders where any of the following symptoms or preliminary diagnoses are present: atypical psychiatric features, first episode psychosis, late onset depression, dementia, HIV and other infections in conjunction with psychiatric symptoms, hysteria, and alcohol or drug abuse. The findings suggest MRI to be a useful supplementary diagnostic tool for improving the care of the psychiatric patient, while relieving the burden both on the patient's family and on mental health care resources.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

High accuracy and contrast resolution in ultra-low field magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at low magnetic field strengths is known to have a comparatively high contrast resolution. Current techniques increasing the signal to noise ratio 3 to 4 times allow for an improvement in the spatial resolution still maintaining the high contrast resolution. The contributing features to this advancement are improvements in software, development of new radiofrequency coils and image processing computors. The subsequent improvement in image evaluation and the access to added information make for a high accuracy in clinical diagnosis and research. The present potential of imaging at ultra-low (0.02 tesla) magnetic field strengths is illustrated with examples from clinical practice and research.

Humans↗