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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
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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 

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