OBJECTIVE: It is established that patients with bipolar disorder have an excess of births in winter or early spring. The authors investigated a link between season of birth and white matter lesions with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHOD: T(2)-weighted and proton density MRI scans were examined for 79 patients with bipolar disorder (DSM-IV) for the presence of deep subcortical and periventricular white matter lesions. The birth seasons of patients with white matter lesions were compared with those of the general population. RESULTS: Thirteen subjects exhibited deep subcortical white matter lesions, of whom nine (69.2%) were born in the winter months (January to March). Seven of these patients remained symptomatic, despite adequate treatment for more than 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Birth season, illness outcome, and deep subcortical white matter lesions appear to be closely linked. Deep subcortical white matter lesions may be a marker of a toxic or infective insult in utero.
OBJECTIVE: It is established that patients with bipolar disorder have an excess of births in winter or early spring. The authors investigated a link between season of birth and white matter lesions with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHOD: T(2)-weighted and proton density MRI scans were examined for 79 patients with bipolar disorder (DSM-IV) for the presence of deep subcortical and periventricular white matter lesions. The birth seasons of patients with white matter lesions were compared with those of the general population. RESULTS: Thirteen subjects exhibited deep subcortical white matter lesions, of whom nine (69.2%) were born in the winter months (January to March). Seven of these patients remained symptomatic, despite adequate treatment for more than 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Birth season, illness outcome, and deep subcortical white matter lesions appear to be closely linked. Deep subcortical white matter lesions may be a marker of a toxic or infective insult in utero.
Authors: Nora Schaub; Nina Ammann; Frauke Conring; Thomas Müller; Andrea Federspiel; Roland Wiest; Robert Hoepner; Katharina Stegmayer; Sebastian Walther Journal: Front Hum Neurosci Date: 2022-06-13 Impact factor: 3.473
Authors: William T Regenold; K Calvin Hisley; Pornima Phatak; Christopher M Marano; Abraham Obuchowski; David M Lefkowitz; Amritpal Sassan; Sameer Ohri; Tony L Phillips; Narveen Dosanjh; Robert R Conley; Rao Gullapalli Journal: Bipolar Disord Date: 2008-11 Impact factor: 6.744
Authors: Ardesheer Talati; Yuanyuan Bao; Jake Kaufman; Ling Shen; Catherine A Schaefer; Alan S Brown Journal: Am J Psychiatry Date: 2013-10 Impact factor: 18.112