Cerebral ventricular enlargement in subtypes of chronic schizophrenia.
A computed tomographic study of the brain in 55 young men with chronic schizophrenia and 27 age- and sex-matched control subjects showed a significantly higher ventricle-brain ratio (VBR) in the patients with chronic schizophrenia. Using the Tsuang-Winokur criteria, the sample was classified into paranoid and nonparanoid-hebephrenic subtypes. Nonparanoid patients who did not fulfill the criteria for hebephrenia were grouped as a nonparanoid-undifferentiated subtype. All three groups of subtypes had a significantly higher mean VBR than control subjects. Among the schizophrenia subtypes, the paranoid and nonparanoid-hebephrenic groups were not different, and both had a significantly larger mean VBR than the nonparanoid-undifferentiated group. The results suggest that although the extent of ventricular enlargement varies among schizophrenia subtypes, they all show a significant enlargement compared with the control group. Also, in contrast with previous reports linking a high VBR with negative symptoms, poor prognosis, and impaired cognition, the data in this study show the largest mean VBR in the paranoid patients who generally have a good premorbid history, positive symptoms, less impaired cognition, and relatively better prognosis.
D000328:Adult; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000473:pathology*; D014695:Cerebral Ventriculography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D012562:Schizophrenia, Disorganized / Q000473:pathology; D012563:Schizophrenia, Paranoid / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed