A comprehensive study of chronic schizophrenic patients. II: Biological, neuropsychological, and clinical correlates of CT abnormality.

There are numerous reports of lateral cerebral ventricle enlargement on computed tomography (CT) in schizophrenics, but the significance and its relationship to traditional notions of organicity remain unclear. Therefore we studied a subgroup of chronic schizophrenics who had lateral ventriculomegaly (and also cortical hyperdensity) on a battery of relevant biological, neuro-psychological, and clinical parameters such as electroencephalogram (EEG), platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) and serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) activity, the Halstead Reitan Neuropsychological Battery (HRB), premorbid personality adjustment, drug response, positive and negative symptoms, employment history, and family history. Our findings support the notion that there is an "organic" subgroup of schizophrenia that has 1) CT structural abnormalities such as lateral ventricle enlargement and cortical hyperdensity; and cerebral dysfunction or deficits as evidenced by 2) an increased incidence of abnormal EEGs and also 3) greater impairment on neuropsychological tests. The biochemical measures, platelet MAO and serum DBH activity, nor any of the clinical measures could differentiate between the subgroups. The implications of these findings for the subtyping of schizophrenia are discussed.