title: Prefrontal enlargement of CSF spaces in agoraphobia: a qualitative CT-scan study.
abstract: 1. This CT study was designed to assess brain morphology in 21 patients with agoraphobia and 21 normal control subjects matched for age and sex. 2. Internal and external CSF spaces were evaluated by qualitative assessment on a 3-point scale (normal, questionable, abnormal). 3. Patients showed bilateral enlargement of prefrontal CSF spaces (p < .05). The rating abnormal" was given in the left hemisphere to 6 (28.6%) of the patients, to 4 (19%) of the patients in the right hemisphere, but to none (0%) of the normal controls. 4. These findings suggest that alterations in brain morphology are involved in the etiology of agoraphobia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philippusstift Essen, FRG.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wurthmann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gregor
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Effenberger
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Doehring
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bogerts
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000379:Agoraphobia / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000523:psychology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed