Longitudinal volume changes of the pituitary gland in patients with schizotypal disorder and first-episode schizophrenia.
An enlarged volume of the pituitary gland has been reported in the schizophrenia spectrum, possibly reflecting the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) hyperactivity. However, it remains largely unknown whether the pituitary size longitudinally changes in the course of the spectrum disorders. In the present study, longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were obtained from 18 patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 13 patients with schizotypal disorder, and 20 healthy controls. The pituitary volume was measured at baseline and follow-up (mean, 2.7 years) scans and was compared across groups. The pituitary volume was larger in the schizophrenia patients than controls at baseline, and both patient groups had significantly larger pituitary volume than controls at follow-up. In a longitudinal comparison, both schizophrenia (3.6%/year) and schizotypal (2.7%/year) patients showed significant pituitary enlargement compared with controls (-1.8%/year). In the schizophrenia patients, greater pituitary enlargement over time was associated with less improvement of delusions and higher scores for thought disorders at the follow-up. These findings suggest that the pituitary gland exhibits ongoing volume changes during the early course of the schizophrenia spectrum as a possible marker of state-related impairments.
Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan. tsutomu@med.u-toyama.ac.jp
Tsutomu
T
Takahashi
Shi-Yu
SY
Zhou
Kazue
K
Nakamura
Ryoichiro
R
Tanino
Atsushi
A
Furuichi
Mikio
M
Kido
Yasuhiro
Y
Kawasaki
Kyo
K
Noguchi
Hikaru
H
Seto
Masayoshi
M
Kurachi
Michio
M
Suzuki
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology*; D012569:Schizotypal Personality Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D055815:Young Adult