Volume of the pineal gland in schizophrenia; an MRI study.
Pineal gland abnormality has been proposed as a possible biological defect in schizophrenia. This study was designed to investigate volumetric differences of the pineal gland using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Patients with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder (n = 45) and normal controls (n = 86) were scanned using a 1.5 Tesla scanner. The volume of the pineal was obtained by blind manual tracing of the gland on T1 weighted images, using locally developed software, BRAINS. The inter-rater reliability (n = 25) yielded an intraclass r of 0.92. Comparison of the volumes by t-test showed no significant difference between patients and normal controls (p = 0.77). This study, backed by a large sample size, suggests that there are no volumetric differences between schizophrenic patients and controls in regard to the pineal gland.
Rajarethinam
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R
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, College of Medicine, Iowa City 52240, USA.
Gupta
S
S
Andreasen
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NC
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011859:Radiography; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*