The role of gender in studies of ventricle enlargement in schizophrenia: a predominantly male effect

Article Abstract:

Although schizophrenia is a mental illness that affects both men and women, it has long been known that there are gender-related differences in this disease. Previous studies have provided evidence that women schizophrenics respond better to psychotropic drugs and have a better prognosis than schizophrenic men. Also, onset of disease is typically earlier in men than in women. Other studies indicate that the range and extent of schizophrenic symptoms also differ by gender. Morphological abnormalities of the brain have been associated with schizophrenia, and gender differences in this area have been suggested also. Specifically, lateral ventricle size has been reported to be larger than normal in schizophrenic patients. Most studies of brain differences have not considered sex factors. This study reported on the results of brain imaging studies of lateral ventricle size in schizophrenic patients using computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, which were used to determine a ventricle-brain ratio. Two previously reported studies were examined, along with the results of two additional studies that evaluated male and female schizophrenics and control subjects (individuals undergoing imaging examinations for other than psychiatric reasons, and who had prior scan results that were normal). The total number of subjects in all studies considered was about 200 patients and 200 controls. No differences in ventricle size were found between female schizophrenics and female control subjects. Although no differences were noted among any of the female subjects, in three of the four studies reported, male schizophrenics had larger ventricles than the male control subjects. Implications of the data are discussed. These results may be useful in categorizing subtypes of schizophrenia; correlations with enlarged ventricles and other mental disorders may also be possible. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Demographic aspects

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Association of left-handedness with ventricle size and neuropsychological performance in schizophrenia

Article Abstract:

Somewhere between 17 and 31 percent of schizophrenics are also left-handed. This proportion far exceeds the distribution of left-handedness that is found in the general population, estimated at around 10 percent. Left-handed schizophrenics also tend to exhibit more severe symptoms than their right-handed counterparts, including poorer social skills, earlier onset of disease, dilation of the ventricles of the brain, and impaired linguistic ability. Sixty-three schizophrenic patients were studied to discover correlations between handedness and symptoms of schizophrenia. Of this group, the 12 patients who were left-handed scored considerably lower on tests measuring cognitive function and revealed more abnormality of the brain. When neurological measurements were taken, the left-handed patients showed notable enlargement of the lateral ventricles in the brain. Lower scores on neuropsychological and intelligence tests were also noted in the left-handed subjects. Out of the total group, CT scans and neuropsychological test results also showed more abnormalities among the 19 percent that were left-handed. It was not clear why the left-handed patients exhibited more cerebral dysfunction than right-handed patients or whether this was a result of genetic factors or brain damage early in life. These findings did suggest that in future studies of schizophrenics the differences between the left-handed and the right-handed patients should be considered in the analysis of the data. It was also suggested that perhaps the two groups of schizophrenics should be studied separately, as there may be significant differences in the nature of disease involved.

Psychological aspects, Research, Left- and right-handedness, Handedness, Neuropsychology

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The role of social relationships in the course of first-episode schizophrenia and affective psychosis

Article Abstract:

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder typically involving delusions, hallucinations, and inappropriate affect (mood). Research has suggested that schizophrenia has a more favorable outcome in developing countries than in developed countries; this may be due to the more supportive social networks that are characteristic of developing nations. This longitudinal study investigated the influence of social relationships on the short-term outcome of the first episode of schizophrenia or affective psychosis, a related form of mental illness. The schizophrenic subjects reported that they had fewer close friends and confiding relationships than either normal control subjects or patients with affective psychosis. Patients with both disorders had a better prognosis (probable outcome) if they had more nonfamily social resources. Involvement in family relationships was associated with more favorable prognosis for subjects with affective psychosis but less positive prognosis for schizophrenics. The tendency for the schizophrenic subjects to have fewer and less-supportive relationships before becoming ill may indicate that lack of support precipitated the illness, the patients lacked social skills originally, or early symptoms of the psychiatric disorder interfered with social bonds. The adverse effect of family interactions on the schizophrenic may stem from the patient's intolerance for close contact with others or from damaging reactions of hostile relatives.

Social aspects, Prognosis, Affective disorders, Mood disorders, Psychoses, Psychotic disorders

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