A comparative diffusion tensor imaging study of patients with and without treatment-resistant schizophrenia

AIM: The aim was to study the brain connectivity using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) among patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) and compare the same with a group of patients without TRS. METHODS: Twenty-three patients with TRS and 15 patients without TRS underwent DTI using a 3T magnetic resonance imaging machine. DTI data were processed with the calculation of fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient. Patients were also assessed on Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Positive and Negative Symptom Scale, Global Assessment of Functioning Scale, and Clinical Global Impression severity scale. RESULTS: Patients with TRS and non-TRS differed significantly in the FA values in the region of right superior longitudinal fasciculus and right uncinate fasciculus, with more integrity of tracts in the non-TRS group. However, these differences disappeared when Bonferroni correction was used for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSION: The present study suggests lack of significant difference in DTI findings between patients with TRS and non-TRS.