Table 1.
Volumetric Results From Longitudinal MRI Studies of Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia
| Study Reference (Research Group) | na | Age at Initial Scan in Years, Mean (SD) | Age at Onset in Years, Mean (SD) | Follow-up in Years, Mean (SD) | Findingsb |
| Frazier et al25,50 (NMIH) | 8 COS, 8 controls | COS: 15.1 (2.3), controls: 15.4 (3.1) | COS 10.5 (1.3) | 2 | B: COS larger caudate vol, no vol differences in putamen, globus pallidus, or lateral ventricles; FU: COS significant decrease of caudate vol during FU with no vol difference at second scan. No differences in rates of vol change in putamen, basal ganglia, and lateral ventricles. |
| Rapoport et al23 (NMIH) | 16 COS, 24 controls | COS: 14.8 (2.4), controls: 14.3 (1.9) | COS 10.23 (1.75) | 2.23 (0.23) | B: COS smaller total cerebral vol and larger globus pallidus vol; FU: COS significant increase in lateral ventricle vol and in ventricle/brain ratio, decrease in midsagittal thalamic areas. Changes correlated with each other. No significant changes in globus pallidus, caudate, or putamen. |
| Rapoport et al18 (NMIH) | 15 COS, 34 controls | COS 13.9 (2.3), controls 12.8 (2.9) | COS 10.3 (2.0) | 4.28 (0.63), range 3–5 years | FU: COS significantly larger decrease in temporal, frontal, and parietal GM. No significant differences in white matter volume. |
| Thompson et al19 (NMIH) | 12 COSc, 10 PNOS, 12 controls | COS 13.9 (0.8), controls 13.5 (0.7) | About 3 years previous to first scan | 4.6 | B: COS severe significant loss in parietal and motor cortices (up to 20%); FU: COS significant progressive GM loss in prefrontal, supplementary motor, sensorimotor, parietal, and temporal cortices (peak values >5% loss/year). Parietal and motor cortices faster loss in younger adolescents. Temporal and prefrontal cortices deficit observed only after symptom onset. PNOS: accelerated frontal GM loss relative to controls but smaller than COS, no temporal lobe vol deficits. |
| Keller et al24 (NMIH) | 50 COS,c,d 50 controlsd | COS 14.8 (2.5), controls 14.9 (2.4) | COS 10.3 (1.8) | Range 2–6 yearse | B: COS no significant differences for total cerebral vol, cerebellar measures, or vermal measures; FUe: COS significant progressive decrease in total cerebellar and total cerebral vol, no significant changes in vermal area and posterior-inferior vermal vol. |
| Sporn et al22 (NMIH) | 39 COSc, 43 controls | COS 15.0 (2.3), controls 14.8 (2.2) | COS 10.2 (2.2) | Range 2–6 years, patients 3.4 (1.4), control 3.6 (1.6) | B: COS larger lateral ventricle, smaller frontal and parietal GM, no significant difference in temporal and total GM; FU: COS significant decrease in total (19.4%), frontal, and parietal GM, increase in lateral ventricles (41.3%). Steeper early frontal and parietal GM vol loss rate. Rate of cortical GM loss plateaus during adolescence. |
| Gogtay et al7,37 (NMIH) | 23 COS, 19 PNOS, 38 controls | COS: 13.9 (2.5), PNOS: 13.3 (3.1), controls: 13.3 (3.1) | COS 10.13 (2.1), PNOS 7.8 (1.9) | 2.5(0.8) | FU: COS significant decrease in total, frontal, temporal, and parietal GM relative to PNOS or controls. No significant vol differences between PNOS and controls. |
| Vidal et al40 (NMIH) | 12 COS, 12 controls, 9 PNOS | COS 14.1 (2.7), PNOS 13.6 (2.7), controls 13.5(2.4) | Before age 13 | 4.6 | B: COS significant decrease in medial frontal and medial parietal cortex GM. No significant differences in cingulate gyrus. PNOS significant loss in the same areas but less marked; FU: COS strongly progressive back to front bilateral deficits in superior medial frontal cortex (>5% loss per year). Progressive loss in medial parietal cortices and left cingulate gyrus. PNOS accelerated GM loss in the same regions but less pervasive. |
| Greenstein et al26 (NMIH) | 70 COSd, 72 controlsd | COS 14.47 (2.6), controls 14.35 (2.56) | COS 10.17 (1.95) | COS up to 7.98 years, controls up to 7.38 years | FU: COS sign smaller cortical thickness (7.5% difference with controls) through the age range. At earlier ages, significant smaller vol in anterior and posterior regions. At ages 20–22 COS brain developmental trajectory normalizes in parietal cortex and vol deficit localizes in temporal and frontal cortices. |
| Nugent et al27 (NMIH) | 29 COS, 31 controls | COS: 14.6 (2.4), controls: 14.6 (2.2) | Before age 13 | Range 6–10 years | B: COS significantly smaller left and right hippocampal volumes; FU: COS no significant changes in total hippocampal volumes. Bilateral loss in anterior and posterior regions and minimal gain in the body. |
Note: COS, childhood-onset schizophrenia patients; PNOS, psychosis not otherwise specified patients medication matched with COS; GM, gray matter; vol, volume; B, baseline; FU, follow-up.
a
Includes patients and controls with >1 scan unless otherwise specified.
b
All significant findings relative to healthy controls.
c
Patients from these 3 studies come from the same sample.
d
Including also patients without follow-up scans.
e
Those analysis performed with data from 36 COS and 34 controls with more than one scan.