Denis
Peruzzo1, Gianluca Rambaldelli2,3, Alessandra Bertoldo1,
Marcella Bellani2,3, Roberto Cerini4, Sivlia Marini5,
Roberto Pozzi Mucelli5, Michele Tansella2,3, Paolo
Brambilla6,7
1Department of Information Engineering,
University of Padova, Padova, Italy; 2Inter-University Center for
Behavioural Neurosciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; 3Department
of Medicine and Public Health, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; 4Service
of Radiology, Policlinico GB Rossi Hospital, Verona, Italy; 5Department
of Morphological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Verona, Verona,
Italy; 6Inter-University Center for Behavioural Neurosciences,
University of Udine, Udine, Italy; 7Scientific Institute, IRCCS
E. Medea, Udine, Italy
Abnormalities
of Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) and Volume (CBV) have been observed in
schizophrenia patients, suggesting that a disruption of the vascular system
may occur in this disease. However, cerebral perfusion is also influenced by
several physiologic parameters, not necessarily connected to the pathology.
We performed a DSC-MRI analysis to study the role of the demographic
information on perfusion parameter estimates between patients with
schizophrenia and normal control subjects. We found that differences (i.e.
between-subject variability) in CBF and CBV are partially explained by the
age and/or by a difference in the subject health conditions.