A comparison of CT findings in acute and chronic ward schizophrenics

Daniel J. Luchins, Herbert Y. Meltzer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Two groups of chronic schizophrenics, one from a short-stay hospital and the other from a chronic hospital setting, were matched on age and length of illness. Their CT (computed tomography) scans, obtained on the same equipment, were then compared with headache control subjects of similar age. Lateral ventricular size was significantly greater in the chronic ward schizophrenics than in either the acute ward patients or the controls. Over one-half the chronic ward samples had ventricles which exceeded the mean plus two standard deviations of the control group. There was also evidence of an increased frequency of reversed occipital asymmetry in the chronic ward schizophrenics. These findings suggest that previous discrepancies reported in the literature for CT studies of schizophrenics might be related to differences in the patient populations studied.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)7-14
Number of pages8
JournalPsychiatry Research
Volume17
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1986

Funding

The research reported was supported in part by USPHS MH-30938, State of Illinois Department of Mental Health, and the Brain Research Foundation, an affiliate of the University of Chicago. Daniel J. Luchins is recipient of USPHS GMHAA MH-00564. Herbert Y. Meltzer is recipient of USPHS RCSA MH-47808.

Keywords

  • Schizophrenia
  • cerebral asymmetry
  • computed tomography
  • lateral ventricles
  • severity of illness

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

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