Increase in caudate nuclei volumes of first-episode XXXX patients taking antipsychotic drugs.

@entity1 @entity161
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the pathomorphology of the caudate nuclei in first-episode @entity161 @entity1 with minimal previous neuroleptic exposure. METHOD: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain was used to examine longitudinally the caudate pathomorphology in 29 first-episode @entity161 @entity1 and 10 healthy comparison subjects. MRI scans were obtained after the subjects entered the study and at 18-month follow-up. The @entity1 were treated with standardized neuroleptic regimens during the 18-month period. Volumetric assessments of the cerebral cortex, lateral ventricles, and caudate nuclei were performed on T1-weighted coronal brain sections. In addition, the @entity1 were systematically evaluated for psychopathology at baseline and during treatment. RESULTS: Caudate volumes increased 5.7% in the @entity1 during the 18-month treatment interval, whereas they decreased 1.6% in the comparison subjects over the same time period. Greater amounts of antipsychotic medication received by @entity1 before the first scan and younger age at the time of the first scan were associated with larger increases in caudate volume. CONCLUSIONS: Caudate enlargement occurs early in the course of treatment in young first-episode @entity161 @entity1 . This may be a result of an interaction between neuroleptic treatment and the plasticity of dopaminergic neuronal systems in young @entity1 .
