title: Hippocampal size in women but not men with schizophrenia relates to disorder duration.
abstract: Longitudinal studies have failed to find progressive hippocampal size reduction in schizophrenia. However, negative results may have been due to follow-up intervals at disease stages where no significant progressive brain changes occur. Furthermore, only male or mixed gender samples have been studied. Forty-six patients with schizophrenia (23 females) and 46 healthy controls (23 females) underwent three-dimensional structural magnetic resonance imaging of the hippocampus and a clinical investigation. Compared with controls, male but not female participants with schizophrenia displayed hippocampal size reduction. Hippocampal size of female but not male schizophrenia patients was related to disorder duration, indicating smaller hippocampal size in female patients with longer disorder duration. Female schizophrenia patients displayed normal hippocampal size at the onset of disorder, but similarly reduced hippocampal size as male schizophrenia patients after some years of illness had passed. Our results suggest preserved hippocampal size in women with schizophrenia during the first years of illness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen, Germany. eirle@gwdg.de
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Irle
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ruhleder
authors.forename: Cornelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Exner
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Siemerkus
authors.forename: Godehard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Weniger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult