White matter volume is decreased in bipolar disorder at early and late stages

INTRODUCTION: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a debilitating mood condition that affects approximately 1.3% of people worldwide, although some studies report up to 3.9% lifetime prevalence and 4-6% in adults when broad diagnostic criteria are applied. OBJECTIVE: To compare differences in total white matter (WM), corpus callosum (CC) and total gray matter (GM) volumes in patients with type I BD at early and late stages compared with controls.