Structural brain abnormalities in patients with inflammatory illness acquired following exposure to water-damaged buildings: a volumetric MRI study using NeuroQuant®.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Case-control study comparing clinical cases to medical controls
PubMed 24946038 · doi:10.1016/j.ntt.2014.06.004
What was done
A case-control volumetric MRI study evaluated brain structure volumes using NeuroQuant automated software across 11 brain regions. The study compared 17 consecutive patients presenting to a specialized inflammatory illness clinic with symptoms attributed to water-damaged building exposure against 18 medical controls.
What was found
Compared to 18 medical controls, the 17 patients exhibited statistically significant volumetric differences across both hemispheres in two of eleven analyzed regions: atrophy of the caudate nucleus and enlargement of the pallidum. In addition, the left amygdala and right forebrain were enlarged. The abstract reports directional findings but provides no exact volume numbers, confidence intervals, or p-values.
Why it matters
This study provides preliminary volumetric MRI data suggesting regional brain structure changes in patients with chronic inflammatory symptoms attributed to water-damaged building exposure.
Limits
The sample size is very small (17 cases, 18 controls) and recruited from a single specialized clinic. The observational case-control design cannot establish causation, and the abstract omits numerical effect sizes, variance measures, and exact p-values.
Cited by
- supports Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker characterized Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS) as an illness linked to exposure to water-damaged buildings, molds, and mycotoxins.