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Brain morphometric comparison of first-episode schizophrenia and temporal lobe epilepsy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

W. B. Barr ,
M. Ashtari ,
R. M. Bilder ,
G. Degreef  and
J. A. Lieberman
W. B. Barr*
Affiliation:
Hillside Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, US
M. Ashtari
Affiliation:
Hillside Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, US
R. M. Bilder
Affiliation:
Hillside Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, US
G. Degreef
Affiliation:
Hillside Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, US
J. A. Lieberman
Affiliation:
Hillside Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Glen Oaks, New York, US
*
Dr William B. Barr, Hillside Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, PO Box 38, Glen Oaks, NY 11004, USA. Fax: (718) 343 1659
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Abstract

Background

Converging evidence has suggested that the abnormalities in brain morphology observed in schizophrenia are similar to those seen in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The purpose ofthis study was to compare the features of these groups directly with measures of the brain using magnetic resonance (MR) morphometry.

Method

Morphometric measures of ventricular and hippocampal volumes obtained from FLASH MR images were studied in 32 patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES), 39 patients withTLE (21 left, 18 right), and 42 healthy controls.

Results

Ventricular volumes in the FES and TLE groups were both significantly larger than those seen in controls and did not differ from each other. The FES group showed significantly larger temporal horns, while theTLE group had relatively larger frontal horns. Analyses of hippocampal volumes revealed a significant group by hemisphere effect. The FES group showed relative reductions in left hippocampal volume that were comparable only toTLE patients with seizures originating from the left hemisphere.

Conclusion

The results indicate that FES and TLE groups both show evidence of ventricular enlargement. Lateralised morphological abnormalities of the hippocampal formation in FES and left TLE are comparable, and may be specific to temporolimbic regions.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 170 , Issue 6 , June 1997 , pp. 515 - 519
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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