Third Ventricle Size and Dementia in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Using an ultrasound technique, the widths of the third ventricle in a group of normal subjects was compared with groups of chronic schizophrenics and acutely ill schizophrenics. While the chronic patients showed a significantly wider ventricle (p < 0.5) from the other two groups, only 14% of the chronic patients had a third ventricle greater than the accepted normal maximum of 8 mm. Neuropsychological tests confirmed organic brain impairment in both chronic and acutely ill patients but there was no significant difference between chronic patients with large ventricles and those with normal size ventricles. This suggests that third ventricle size is not part of the schizophrenic disease process and is not related to the dementia seen in the late stages of the illness.