Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:31:45.697Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Schizophrenia with Good and Poor Outcome II: Cerebral Ventricular Size and its Clinical Significance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

A. O. Williams ,
M. A. Reveley ,
T. Kolakowska ,
M. Ardern  and
B. M. Mandelbrote
A. O. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford OX4 4XN. Present post: Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria
M. A. Reveley
Affiliation:
Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5
T. Kolakowska*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford OX4 4XN
M. Ardern
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Littlemore Hospital, Oxford OX4 4XN. Present post: Consultant in Psychiatry for the Elderly, Colville Health Centre, London W11
B. M. Mandelbrote
Affiliation:
Littlemore Hospital, Oxford OX4 4XN
*
∗Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Computed tomography brain scans were carried out on 40 patients with schizophrenia or schizo-affective disorder of 2–20 years duration. Ventricular-brain ratio (VBR) was significantly greater than that of the control group. In six patients the VBR exceeded the control mean + 2 s.d. Among the 13 whose VBR was more than 1 s.d. above the control mean, none had schizo-affective disorder, all but one had chronic illness, and patients with negative symptoms and those with premorbid schizoid traits were over-represented. VBR was unrelated to medical history, age, duration of illness, or neuroleptic treatment. It was not associated with neurological ‘soft’ signs or cognitive deficit. Among chronic patients, clinical features showed no association with ventricular size. The findings suggest that large ventricles may be related to a sub-type of chronic schizophrenia rather than to its particular clinical features.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 146 , Issue 3 , March 1985 , pp. 239 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andreasen, N. C., Smith, M. R., Jacoby, C. G., Dennert, J. W. & Olsen, S. A. (1982a) Ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia: Definition and prevalence. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 292–296.Google ScholarPubMed
Andreasen, N. C., Jacoby, C. G., & Olsen, S. A., Dennert, J. W. & Smith, M. R. (1982b) Ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia: Relationship to positive and negative symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 297–302.Google ScholarPubMed
Benes, F., Sunderland, P., Jones, B., LeMay, M., Cohen, B. M. & Lipinski, J. F. (1982) Normal ventricles in young schizophrenics. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 90–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
De Lisi, L. E., Neckers, L. M., Weinberger, D. R. & Wyatt, R. J. (1981) Increased whole blood serotonin concentrations in chronic schizophrenic patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 38, 647–650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glück, E., Radü, E. W., Mundt, C. & Gerhardt, P. (1980) A computed tomographic prolectivc trohoc study of chronic schizophrenics. Neuroradiology, 20, 167–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Golden, C. J., Moses, J. A., Zelazowski, R., Graber, B., Zatz, L. M., Horvath, T. B. & Berner, P. A. (1980) Cerebral ventricular size and neuropsychological impairment in young chronic schizophrenics: Measurements by the standardised Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 619–623.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guy, W. (1976) ECDEU Assessment Manual for Psychopharmacology. Rockville, Maryland: National Institute for Mental Health.Google Scholar
Gyldensted, C. & Kosteuanetz, M. (1976) Measurements of the normal ventricular system with computer tomography of the brain. A preliminary study on 44 adults. Neuroradiology, 10, 205–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haug, J. O. (1962) Pneumo-encephalographic studies in mental disease. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 38 (Suppl. 165), 66–86.Google Scholar
Huber, G. (1957) Pneumoencephalographische undpsychopatologische Bilder bei endogenen Psychosen. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jernigan, T. L., Zatz, L. M., Moses, J. A. & Berger, P. A. (1982) Computed tomography in schizophrenics and normal volunteers. I: Fluid volume. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 765–770.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnstone, E. C., Crow, T. J., Frith, C. D., Stevens, M., Kreel, L. & Husband, J. (1976) Cerebral ventricular size and cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia. Lancet, i, 924–926.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnstone, E. C., Crow, T. J., Frith, C. D., Stevens, M., Kreel, L. & Husband, J. (1978) The dementia of dementia praecox. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 57, 305–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleinman, J. E., Weinberger, D. R., Rogol, A. D., Bigelow, L. B., Klein, S. T., Gillin, J. C. & Wyatt, R. J. (1982) Plasma prolactin concentrations and psychopathology in chronic schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 655–657.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kolakowska, T., Williams, A. O., Ardern, M., Reveley, M. A., Jambor, K., Gelder, M. G. & Mandelbrote, B. M. (1985) Schizophrenia with good and poor outcome. I: Early clinical features, response to neuroleptics and signs of organic dysfunction. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, in press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kolakowska, T., Williams, A. O., Reveley, M. A., Gelder, M. G. & Mandelbrote, B. M., Jambor, K. & Ardern, M. (1985) Schizophrenia with good and poor outcome. III: Neurological ‘soft’ signs, cognitive impairment and their clinical significance. British Journal of Psychiatry, 146, in press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luchins, D. J., Lewine, R. R. J. & Meltzer, H. Y. (1984) Lateral ventricular size, psychopathology and response to medication in the psychoses. Biological Psychiatry, 19, 29–44.Google ScholarPubMed
Nasrallah, H. A., McCalley-Whitters, M. & Jacoby, C. G. (1982) Cerebral ventricular enlargement in young manic males. Journal of Affective Disorders, 4, 15–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearlson, G. D. & Veroff, A. E. (1981) Computerised tomographic scan changes in manic–depressive illness. Lancet, 29 Aug., 2, 470.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ouitkin, F., Rifkin, A. & Klein, D. F. (1976) Neurologic soft signs in schizophrenia and character disorders: Organicity in schizophrenia with premorbid asociality and emotionally unstable character disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 845–853.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rochford, J. M., Detre, T., Tucker, G. J. & Harrow, M. (1970) Neuropsychological impairments in functional psychiatric diseases. Archives of General Psychiatry, 22, 114–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Simpson, G. H. & Angus, J. W. S. (1970) A rating scale for extrapyramidal side-effects. Acta Psxchiatrica Scandinavica, Suppl. 212, 11–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Spitzer, R. L., Endicott, J. J. & Robins, E. (1975) Research Diagnostic Criteria. New York: New York State Psychiatric Institute.Google ScholarPubMed
Tanaka, Y., Hazama, H., Kawahara, R. & Kobayashi, K. (1981) Computerised tomography of the brain in schizophrenic patients. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 63, 191–197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Targum, S. D., Rosen, L., De Lisi, L. E., Weinberger, D. R. & Citrin, C. M. (1983) Cerebral ventricular size in major depressive disorder: Association with delusional symptoms. Biological Psychiatry, 18, 329–335.Google ScholarPubMed
Trimble, M. & Kingsley, D. (1978) Cerebral ventricular size in chronic schizophrenia. Lancet, i, 278–279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weinberger, D. R., Torrey, E. F., Neophytides, A. N. & Wyatt, R. J. (1979a) Lateral cerebral ventricular enlargement in chronic schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, 735–739.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weinberger, D. R., Torrey, E. F., Neophytides, A. N. & Wyatt, R. J. (1979b) Structural abnormalities in the cerebral cortex of chronic schizophrenic patients. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, 935–939.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weinberger, D. R., Torrey, E. F., Neophytides, A. N. & Cannon-Spoor, E., Potkin, S. G. & Wyatt, R. J. (1980a) Poor pre-morbid adjustment and CT scan abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 1410–1413.Google Scholar
Weinberger, D. R., Torrey, E. F., Neophytides, A. N. & Cannon-Spoor, E., Potkin, S. G. & Wyatt, R. J., Bigelow, L. B., Kleinman, J. E., Klein, S. T., Rosenblatt, J. E. & Wyatt, R. J. (1980b) Cerebral ventricular enlargement in chronic schizophrenia: An association with poor response to treatment. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 11–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wyatt, R. J., De Lisi, L. E., Perman, G. P., Targum, S. & Wyatt, R. J. (1982) Computed tomography in schizophreniform disorder and other acute psychiatric disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry, 39, 778–783.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.