title: Hippocampal volume in first-episode schizophrenia and longitudinal course of the illness.
abstract: Several lines of evidence suggest an adverse effect of psychotic episodes on brain morphology. It is not clear if this relationship reflects the cumulative effect of psychotic outbursts on the gradual progressive reduction of hippocampal tissue or an increased tendency toward psychotic episodes in patients with a smaller hippocampus at the beginning of the illness.
  
  
  
  This is a longitudinal 4-year prospective study of patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES, N = 58). Baseline brain anatomical scans (at FES) were analysed using voxel-based morphometry and atlas-based volumetry of the hippocampal subfields. The effects of first-episode duration on the hippocampal morphology, and the effect of baseline hippocampal morphology on illness course with relapses, number of psychotic episodes and residual symptoms were analysed.
  
  
  
  A significant negative correlation was detected between first-episode duration and baseline hippocampal morphology. Relapse, number of psychotic episodes and residual symptoms had no correlation with baseline hippocampal volume.
  
  
  
  We replicated the effect of psychosis duration on hippocampal volume already at the time first-episode, which supports the concept of toxicity of psychosis. The indices of a later unfavourable course of schizophrenia had no correlation with baseline brain morphology, suggesting that there is no baseline morphological abnormality of the hippocampus that predisposes the patient to frequent psychotic outbursts.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hýža
authors.affiliation: b Behavioral and Social Neuroscience Group , Ceitec-MU, Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;
authors.forename: Matyáš
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;|c Department of Psychiatry , University Hospital Brno , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Češková
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;|c Department of Psychiatry , University Hospital Brno , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Libor
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ustohal
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine , Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;|b Behavioral and Social Neuroscience Group , Ceitec-MU, Masaryk University , Brno , Czech Republic ;|c Department of Psychiatry , University Hospital Brno , Brno , Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Tomáš
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kašpárek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018153:Czech Republic; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Schizophrenia; atrophy; hippocampus; predisposition; toxicity