Cranial computerized axial tomography (CT) has been useful in identifying a subgroup of schizophrenic patients with enlargement of the lateral ventricles and frontal cortical atrophy. The relationship between these anatomic abnormalities and mental illness remains speculative, but it has been suggested that such enlargement may be more common in those patients with more severe illness or poor prognosis. Previous CT studies have shown no correlation between ventricular size and duration of illness or age and a single prospective study failed to show progressive ventricular enlargement over a brief, 3 year, follow-up period. We rescanned a cohort of schizophrenic patients 7-9 years after a pilot study of ventricular size. This study greatly extends the follow-up period. No pattern of change in ventricular size of frontal cortical atrophy was seen, indicating that the pathology underlying these changes appears to remain static.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter