Association between minor physical anomalies and lateral ventricular enlargement in childhood and adolescent onset schizophrenia

Abstract

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the association between morphological abnormalities of brain and minor physical anomalies (MPAs) in childhood and adolescent onset schizophrenia. Method: Twenty-seven patients who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV criteria before 18 years of age were included in the study. MPAs were evaluated with the modified version of Waldrop scale (WS) by Green et al. Morphological abnormalities of brain was evaluated with ventricular-brain ratio (VBR) by using cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination. Results: A significant positive correlation was observed between WS scores and VBRs. Conclusion: This result indicates a relationship between MPAs and lateral ventricular enlargement, and supports neurodevelopmental etiology in childhood or adolescent onset schizophrenia.