Reduction of the parahippocampal gyrus and the hippocampus in patients with chronic schizophrenia

Background There have been many studies reporting reduced volume of the hip pocampus or other limbic structures in patients with schizophrenia, but the literature is inconsistent. Aims To compare patients with either first-episode or chronic schizophrenia with controls using high-resolution volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Method Thirteen patients with first-episode schizophrenia, 27 with chronic schizophrenia and 31 controls had 1.5 mm coronal slices taken through the w hole brain using a spoiled-grass MRI acquisition protocol. Results The parahippocampal gyrus was reduced significantly on the left sid e in patients with chronic schizophrenia compared with controls for both ma le and female patients, whereas the hippocampus was reduced significantly o n both sides only in female patients. There were no significant reductions in any structure between patients with first-episode schizophrenia and cont rols. Conclusions Volumetric reduction seen in patients with chronic schizophreni a may be due to an active degenerative process occurring after the onset of illness. Declaration of interest This work was funded in part by National Institute of Mental Health grant ROI-44233.