Midline anomalies and organic psychosis: congenital or degenerative? A cross-sectional study of 62 patients with Andermann syndrome

Abstract

Brain alterations have been sought since the beginning of the century to explain the ‘dementia’ of dementia præcox. Kraepelin suggested in 1913 that it might have its internal origins in early childhood, while Southard (1915) considered likely a congenital or early acquired basis for the development of the disease. Afterwards, degenerative processes were described for decades until neurodevelopmental theories emerged recently (Lewis, 1988).Using pneumoencephalography, Jacobi and Winkler (1927) first reported that some patients with schizophrenia presented enlarged ventricles. Johnstone et al (1976, 1978), in CT-scan studies, observed an increase in mean lateral ventricular size in a group of institutionalized schizophrenic patients. This finding has been replicated by other studies (Weinberger et al, 1983) but challenged by others (Gluck et al, 1980; Jernigan et al, 1982).

Diseases of White Matter and Schizophrenia-Like Psychosis

“…When psychiatric disturbance presents in ACC sufferers, it is psychotic in nature in at least half of the patients [37] and undiagnosed ACC has been detected in schizophrenia populations at a significantly increased rate [148]. Andermann's and Apert's syndrome both cause ACC and have significantly higher rates of psychosis than healthy controls [149],[150]. Agenesis of corpus callosum also occurs in greater rates in VCFS [151], perhaps as a result of the deletion or altered regulation of genes involved in neural or axonal migration.…”

Diseases of white matter and schizophrenia-like psychosis

“…When psychiatric disturbance presents in ACC sufferers, it is psychotic in nature in at least half of the patients [37] and undiagnosed ACC has been detected in schizophrenia populations at a significantly increased rate [148]. Andermann's and Apert's syndrome both cause ACC and have significantly higher rates of psychosis than healthy controls [149,150]. Agenesis of corpus callosum also occurs in greater rates in VCFS [151], perhaps as a result of the deletion or altered regulation of genes involved in neural or axonal migration.…”