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Schizophrenic symptoms and deterioration. Relation to computed tomographic findings
A K Pandurangi1, R M Bilder, R O Rieder
1Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York.
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
|April 1, 1988
Summary
Chronic schizophrenia patients showed brain structure changes. Premorbid social deficits correlated with brain atrophy, while thought disorder related inversely to ventricle size in this study.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
Background:
- Schizophrenia is a complex psychiatric disorder.
- Previous research suggests structural brain abnormalities in schizophrenia patients.
- Computed axial tomography (CAT) is a neuroimaging technique used to assess brain structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between clinical variables and brain structure in chronic schizophrenia.
- To assess ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) and cortical atrophy using CAT scans.
- To explore correlations between premorbid adjustment, symptomatology, social deterioration, and neuroimaging findings.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-two patients diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia were included.
- Clinical assessments included premorbid adjustment, symptomatology, and social deterioration scales.
- Brain structure was evaluated using CAT scans to measure VBR and cortical atrophy.
- Linear correlation and univariate analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis.
Main Results:
- Ventricular enlargement and cortical atrophy findings in schizophrenia were replicated.
- Premorbid asociality and social deterioration showed a modest positive correlation with CAT findings.
- Formal thought disorder was negatively associated with ventricle size.
- No significant relationship was found between negative symptoms and CAT measures.
- Cortical atrophy suggested a more severe illness than ventricular enlargement, though not statistically significant due to small sample size.
Conclusions:
- Clinical factors like premorbid social deficits and thought disorder are associated with specific brain structural changes in chronic schizophrenia.
- Neuroimaging findings, including VBR and cortical atrophy, provide objective markers that may correlate with certain clinical aspects of schizophrenia.
- Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm the association between cortical atrophy and illness severity in schizophrenia.