The integrity of corpus callosum and cluster B personality disorders: A quantitative MRI study in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

• Published in: Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 516 - 521
• Main Authors: Filho, Gerardo Maria de Araújo, Jackowski, Andrea Parolin, Lin, Katia, Silva, Ivaldo, S.B. Guaranha, Mirian, Guilhoto, Laura M.F.F., Júnior, Henrique Carrete, Yacubian, Elza Márcia T., Bressan, Rodrigo Affonseca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 16-04-2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Analysis of Variance; Biological and medical sciences; Brain Mapping; Case-Control Studies; Cluster B personality disorders; Corpus callosum; Corpus Callosum - pathology; Female; Headache. Facial pains. Syncopes. Epilepsia. Intracranial hypertension. Brain oedema. Cerebral palsy; Humans; Idiopathic generalized epilepsy; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Medical sciences; Myoclonic Epilepsy, Juvenile - complications; Myoclonic Epilepsy, Juvenile - pathology; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Neurology; Neuropharmacology; Personality disorders; Personality Disorders - complications; Personality Disorders - pathology; Personality Inventory; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychiatric disorders; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Retrospective Studies; Young Adult; MRI; VPA; CNZ; TPM; WM; CBZ; Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy; PHT; MANOVA; DSM; CC; VBM; AED; JME; ILAE; Cluster B personality disorders; IGE; EEG; Idiopathic generalized epilepsy; ROI; Corpus callosum; PB; PD; Magnetic resonance imaging; CLB; DTI; OXC; GTCS; Psychiatric disorders; LTG; Nervous system diseases; Epilepsy; Idiopathic; Cluster; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Personality disorder; Cerebral disorder; Central nervous system disease; Mental disorder; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0278-5846; 1878-4216
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2010.02.009

Evidence suggests increased prevalence of cluster B personality disorders (PD) among patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), which has been associated with worse seizure control and more psychosocial dysfunctions. A preliminary voxel-based morphometry study demonstrated corpus callosum (CC) volume reduction in patients with JME and cluster B PD, particularly in the posterior midbody and isthmus. In this study we aimed to follow up these results with region of interest analysis. Sixteen JME patients with cluster B PD, 38 JME patients without any psychiatric disorder, and 30 demographically matched healthy controls submitted to a psychiatric evaluation and a magnetic resonance imaging scan. The total and regional callosal areas were obtained from the midsagittal slice using a semi-automated program. Psychiatric evaluation was performed through SCID-I and -II. Significant reductions in the posterior region of the CC were observed in the JME with PD group relative to the other groups. These data support previous findings of callosal reductions in cluster B PD, as well as a possible involvement of CC in patients with JME and such personality characteristics.