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MRI findings differentiate between late-onset schizophrenia and late-life mood disorder
P V Rabins1, E Aylward, S Holroyd
1Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore 21287-7279, USA. pvrabins@jhmi.edu
Objectives:
Compare MRI scans of patients with late-onset schizophrenia, late-life depression and late-life bipolar disorder to age- and gender-matched controls. MRI head scans of 14 patients in each diagnostic group and 21 patients in the normal control group were compared. Subjects were recruited from inpatient and outpatient services.
Measures:
The CERAD MRI rating algorithm was used to rate degree of atrophy.
Results:
Patients with bipolar and unipolar disorder had greater left sylvian fissure and left and right temporal sulcal enlargement, and more bilateral cortical atrophy than normals. Patients with late-onset schizophrenia had larger right temporal horns and larger third ventricles. These findings validate the distinctions between late-life affective disorder and late-onset schizophrenia and mirror changes reported in younger individuals. They may reflect underlying structural and functional abnormalities found in neuropathologic and functional imaging studies.