Quantitative Microvascular Analysis of Subcortical Regions in Schizophrenia
Kreczmanski P, Heinsen H, Mantua V, Woltersdorf F, Masson T, Ulfig N, Schmidt-Kastner R, Korr H, Steinbusch HW, Hof PR, Schmitz C. Microvessel length density, total length, and length per neuron in five subcortical regions in schizophrenia. Acta Neuropathol 2009;117(4):409-421. doi: 10.1007/s00401-009-0482-7.
Background: Schizophrenia has been associated with metabolic and vascular abnormalities, but direct structural evidence for microvascular alterations in the brain remains limited. Because adequate blood supply is essential for neuronal function, subtle vascular changes could contribute to the pathophysiology of the disorder.
Hypothesis: This study hypothesized that patients with schizophrenia show alterations in microvessel length density, total microvessel length or microvessel length per neuron in subcortical brain regions compared to healthy controls.
Methods: The authors examined post mortem brains from 13 male patients with schizophrenia and 13 age-matched male controls. Using design-based stereology with the Spaceballs probe implemented in Stereo Investigator and analyzed through a motorized microscope system equipped with an electronic microcator and CCD camera, they estimated microvessel length density in the caudate nucleus, putamen, nucleus accumbens, mediodorsal thalamic nucleus and lateral amygdala.
Results: No significant differences were found between schizophrenia and control groups in microvessel length density, total microvessel length or microvessel length per neuron in any of the investigated regions. Microvessel length parameters were also unrelated to illness duration or neuronal density.
Conclusions: The findings indicate that microvascular structure in key subcortical regions is preserved in schizophrenia, suggesting that functional vascular or metabolic abnormalities arise independently of measurable structural microvessel changes.
