Investigation of a possible diencephalic pathology in schizophrenia.
Absence of the adhesio interthalamica (AI) in schizophrenic first episode patients is suggestive for another marker of early developmental neuropathologic changes. Moreover, findings suggest that schizophrenic patients without AI are characterised by more severe negative symptoms. The study aims to investigate the presence vs. absence of AI in relation to brain measurements and clinical features. Presence or absence of AI and volumetric brain measurements were assessed in 50 patients with schizophrenia and 50 matched controls. No differences in the incidence of AI were found between the groups. Patients without AI revealed a strong trend towards a larger third ventricle and significantly higher scores for negative symptoms. Interestingly, the subgroup of healthy controls without AI also had larger third ventricles. The absence of AI may represent another early developmental marker of cerebral malformation in a clinical subgroup of schizophrenic patients.
Meisenzahl
Eva M
EM
Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Nussbaumstr. 7, 80 339 Munich, Germany. emeisen@psy.med.uni-muenchen.de
Frodl
Thomas
T
Zetzsche
Thomas
T
Leinsinger
Gerda
G
Maag
Klaus
K
Hegerl
Ulrich
U
Hahn
Klaus
K
Möller
Hans-Jürgen
HJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D004027:Diencephalon / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020542:Third Ventricle / Q000002:abnormalities
D015415:Biomarkers