BRAIN STRUCTURE CHANGES IN SCHIZOPHRENICS WITH HIGH SERUM TITERS OF ANTIBODIES TO HERPES-VIRUS

We compared five indices of brain structure between two groups of schi zophrenics, namely, those with high and normal levels of antibody in t he serum to herpes virus. Eleven 'immuno-positive' and 21 'immuno-norm al' subjects obtained from a concomitant study of serum IgG antibody t o viruses underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) utilizing a 1 Tes la magnet and 8 mm thick slices. We measured ventricle-brain ratio (VB R), 3rd ventricle width, cortical atrophy, area of corpus callosum, an d frontal lobe area. The differences between groups were assessed by t -test and chi-square analysis. Fight of 11 immune-positives compared t o 7 of 21 immuno-normals showed evidence of cortical atrophy (chi(2) = 4.49, p < 0.03). The immune-positives had smaller left frontal area ( mean + s.d = 125.69 + 21.30 versus 143.76 + 19.84, t = 2.07, p < 0.05) and larger 2nd quadrant of the corpus callosum (mean + s.d. = 1.58 0.39 versus 1.27 + 0.52, t = 2.68, p < 0.01). The right frontal area a lso was smaller in immune-positives but not significant. VBR, 3rd vent ricle and the Ist, 3rd and 4th callosal quadrants did not differ betwe en the groups. We conclude that high antibody titers to herpes found i n the sera of some schizophrenics might reflect an earlier pathogeneti c process that affected brain development. Further studies of antibodi es in CSF and brain structure in these or similar subjects and those s uspected to be exposed to viral infections in utero should be vigorous ly pursued to obtain definitive evidence for this hypothesis.