Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:893-900
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
Ventricular abnormalities in affective disorder: clinical and demographic correlates
NC Andreasen, V Swayze 2d, M Flaum, R Alliger and G Cohen
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242.
Ventricle-brain ratio was measured by CT scan in 24 bipolar patients, 27
unipolar patients with major depression, 108 schizophrenic patients, and 75
normal control subjects. The male bipolar patients had significantly larger
ventricles, but the depressive patients did not. The findings suggest the
possibility that ventricular enlargement in bipolar patients is independent
of age, as it appears to be in schizophrenia, whereas in depressed patients
it may be related to the aging process. Ventricular enlargement in bipolar
patients was not related to relevant clinical correlates, such as response
to treatment, history of substance abuse, history of ECT, or cognitive
impairment.
