title: Structural abnormalities of the brain in schizophrenia: sex differences in the Cantabria First Episode of Schizophrenia Study.
abstract: This paper examines structural brain abnormalities, as evaluated by the CT scan, in first episodes of schizophrenia and their association with sociodemographic, diagnostic and clinical variables. The investigation included all patients with a first episode of schizophrenia who, over a 2-year period, made contact with any of the public mental health services of the Autonomous Region of Cantabria in Northern Spain. Diagnostic and clinical characteristics were evaluated through the use of the Spanish version of the Present State Examination (PSE-9) and the Scales for the Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms (SANS and SAPS respectively). The study demonstrated the presence of structural brain abnormalities in this sample of first episode schizophrenics. These abnormalities were mainly expressed in the presence of larger VBR for schizophrenic patients than in the controls, these findings being more marked in women than in men. We failed to reveal, however, any evidence of an association of these brain abnormalities with diagnostic or clinical characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Social Psychiatry Research Unit of Cantabria, University Hospital Marqués de Valdecillá, Cantabria University, Santander, Spain.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vázquez-Barquero
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cuesta Núñez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Quintana Pando
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de la Varga
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herrera Castanedo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000002:abnormalities*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed