Ventricular enlargement in schizophrenia spectrum patients with prodromal symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder

We hypothesized that male patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who have prodromal symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) have ventricular enlargement compared with non-psychotic OCD patients, and that the difference in the ventricular size would offer a clue to the early detection of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The ventricle-brain ratios (VBRs) in eight male patients with schizophrenia or schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) who had prodromal symptoms of OCD were compared with eight male patients with non-psychotic OCD and 14 normal male comparison subjects using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The VER of the schizophrenia spectrum group was significantly larger than those of the OCD group or comparison subjects. Even the minimum VER in the schizophrenia spectrum group was larger than the maximum VER in the OCD group. These results may suggest the usefulness of three-dimensional MRI for early detection of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who manifest OCD symptoms early in the course of the illness. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.