title: Lack of clinically significant gross structural abnormalities in MRIs of older patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses.
abstract: The authors examined the reports of MRI brain studies of 69 patients with DSM-III-R-diagnosed psychotic disorders (30 early-onset and 24 late-onset schizophrenia patients and 15 with other psychoses) and 41 normal comparison subjects. Participants' ages ranged from 45 to 87 years. A qualitative rating scheme determined type and severity of clinically detectable abnormalities, including volume loss, infarcts, lacunae, and white matter hyperintensities. In this clinically well-characterized sample, the vast majority of the MRIs were within normal limits. There were no significant differences between psychosis patients and normal comparison subjects or between early-onset and late-onset schizophrenia patients in frequency, type, or severity of gross structural abnormalities. The results indicate that late-onset schizophrenia and related disorders can exist without clinically significant gross structural abnormalities in the brain.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Symonds
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Olichney
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Jernigan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Corey-Bloom
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Healy
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Jeste
mesh_terms: D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology