An MRI study of adolescent patients with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder as compared to healthy control subjects

Background: There are few imaging studies in adolescent patients with eithe r schizophrenia or bipolar disorder: Such studies are of interest because a dolescents may have a more severe illness and neurodevelopmental events may have a greater role in their pathophysiology. Methods: We compared 20 patients with schizophrenia and 15 patients with bi polar disorder (10 to 18 years) to 16 normal adolescents on magnetic resona nce imaging (MRI) measures of intracranial volume and ventricular and sulca l enlargement. Two planned comparison contrasts were employed, one comparin g the two patient groups to each other (contrast 1), and one comparing both patient groups combined to control subjects (contrast 2), Results: None of the contrast 1 comparisons (schizophrenia vs bipolar) were statistically significant. Contrast 2 comparisons (control subjects vs pat ients) were statistically significant for intracranial volume (reduced in p atients) as well as frontal and temporal sulcal size (increased in patients ). Conclusions: The patient groups were not statistically significantly differ ent from each other on any measure. The combined patient groups were differ ent from control subjects on intracranial volume and frontal and temporal s ulcal size. Also, there was evidence for ventricular enlargement, after rem oval of a control subject with an extreme value. These findings indicate th at the same abnormalities noted in adult populations are present in adolesc ents. (C) 1999 Society of Biological Psychiatry.