Morphometrical and morphological analysis of lateral ventricles in schizophrenia patients versus healthy controls.

The goal of this report was to highlight lateral ventricle morphology and volume differences between schizophrenia patients and matched controls. Subjects identified as suitable for analysis comprised 15 schizophrenia patients and 15 healthy subjects. The method applied is three-dimensional (3D) volume rendering starting from structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of selected ventricular regions. Differences between groups relative to the global ventricular system and its subdivisions were found. Total lateral ventricle volume, right ventricle volume and left ventricle volume were all higher in schizophrenia patients than in controls; unilateral differences between the two groups were also outlined (right ventricle volume>left ventricle volume in schizophrenia patients vs. healthy subjects). Furthermore, occipital and frontal horn enlargement was found in schizophrenia patients compared with normal controls, but the difference in the temporal horn was not statistically significant. A substantial difference was noted in lateral ventricle morphology between the two groups. Our findings were consistent with the literature and may shed light on some of the discrepancies in previous reports on differences in lateral ventricle volume enlargement.