CAVUM SEPTI PELLUCIDI IN NORMALS AND PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AS DETECTED BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

Cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) is a cavity between the two leaflets of th e septum pellucidum. CSP is a devlopmental anomaly, yet the pathologic implications, if any, of an abnormally large CSP remain unclear. The reported incidence of CSP among normal populations varies greatly from 0.15% to 85%. Several studies have suggested that there is a higher i ncidence of CSP in patients with schizophrenia. We conducted a thin-sl ice magnetic resonance imaging study to evaluate the prevalence of CSP in a sample of 75 controls and 55 patients. There was a high incidenc e of small CSP among both groups: 58.8% in the controls and 58.2% in t he patients, suggesting that a small cavum could be considered a norma l variant; however, the patient, suggesting that a small cavum could b e considered a normal variant; however, the patient group had signific antly higher incidence of large CSP (20.7%) compared to the normal gro up (3%). The patients with larg CSP were all male. (C) 1997 Society of Biological Psychiatry.