Researchers in Spain and the U.K. find a similar pattern of brain volume changes in a group 76 controls and 109 patients with schizophrenia diagnose,s in the first three years following the start of antipsychotic treatment. “However,” the study finds, “patients showed a significant lower progressive decrease in the volume of the caudate nucleus than control subjects, with healthy subjects showing a greater reduction than patients during the follow-up period . . . our findings, showing a lack of brain deterioration in a substantial number of individuals, suggest a less pessimistic and more reassuring perception of the illness.”
Abstract →
Roiz-Santiáñez, R., Ayesa-Arriola, R., Tordesillas-Gutiérrez, D., Ortiz-Garcia, F., et al.;
Three-year longitudinal population-based volumetric MRI study in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum patients. Psychological Medicine. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0033291713002365, Published online: 26 September 2013