Prevalence of cavum septum pellucidum in schizophrenia studied with MRI.
OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence of cavum septum pellucidum (CSP), a midline developmental anomaly, in patients with schizophrenia.


METHODS
Three-millimeter coronal T1 weighted MRI images of 43 normal controls and 73 patients with schizophrenia were examined. The images were resampled into 1-mm slices and CSP was measured by the number of slices in which it appeared.


RESULTS
Patients had significantly higher incidence of CSP (Fisher's exact test 0.042; one-sided). Eighteen (41.9%) of the controls and 44 (60.3%) of patients had a CSP, and one of 46 controls and three of 73 patients had a large CSP of six slices or more. There was no relationship between the presence or size of CSP and regional brain volumes or volumes of hippocampus-amygdala complex, caudate, superior temporal gyrus or ventricular CSF.


CONCLUSIONS
Higher incidence of CSP may reflect a neurodevelopmental disturbance in schizophrenia.
Rajarethinam
R
R
Schizophrenia Research Program, University of Michigan Hospitals, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, 48109, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Miedler
J
J
DeQuardo
J
J
Smet
C I
CI
Brunberg
J
J
Kirbat
R
R
Tandon
R
R
D000328:Adult; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012688:Septum Pellucidum / Q000002:abnormalities*