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Hippocampal abnormalities and age in chronic schizophrenia: morphometric study across the adult lifespan

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Background: Hippocampal abnormalities have been demonstrated in schizophrenia. It is unclear whether these abnormalities worsen with age, and whether they affect cognition and function.
Aims: To determine whether hippocampal abnormalities in chronic schizophrenia are associated with age, cognition and socio-occupational function.
Method: Using 3 T magnetic resonance imaging we scanned 100 persons aged 19-82 years: 51 were out-patients with stable schizophrenia at least 2 years after diagnosis and 49 were healthy volunteers matched for age and gender. Automated analysis was used to determine hippocampal volume and shape.
Results: There were differential effects of age in the schizophrenia and control samples on total hippocampal volume (group × age interaction: F(1,95) = 6.57, P = 0.012), with steeper age-related reduction in the schizophrenia group. Three-dimensional shape analysis located the age-related deformations predominantly in the mid-body of the hippocampus. In the schizophrenia group similar patterns of morphometric abnormalities were correlated with impaired cognition and poorer socio-occupational function.
Conclusions: Hippocampal abnormalities are associated with age in people with chronic schizophrenia, with a steeper decline than in healthy individuals. These abnormalities are associated with cognitive and functional deficits, suggesting that hippocampal morphometry may be a biomarker for cognitive decline in older patients with schizophrenia.

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British Journal of Psychiatry, 2014, vol. 205, num.5, p. 369-375

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(c) The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2014

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Articles publicats en revistes (Psicologia Clínica i Psicobiologia)

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Hippocampal abnormalities and age in chronic schizophrenia: morphometric study across the adult lifespan