Prenatal underdevelopment and schizophrenia: A case report of monozygotic twins

A case is described herein of monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia that illustrates possible causal events of prenatal underdevelopment, morphological changes in the brain, poor premorbid functioning, and the development of schizophrenia. The affected twin was born with a birthweight of 16...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences 2003-06, Vol.57 (3), p.271-274
Main Authors: Kunugi, Hiroshi, Urushibara, Takako, Murray, Robin M., Nanko, Shinichiro, Hirose, Tetsuya
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - embryology
Brain - pathology
Female
Humans
Hypoxia, Brain - complications
hypoxic brain damage
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
low birthweight
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Medical sciences
monozygotic twin
perinatal complications
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychoses
Risk Factors
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - etiology
Twins, Monozygotic
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Summary:A case is described herein of monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia that illustrates possible causal events of prenatal underdevelopment, morphological changes in the brain, poor premorbid functioning, and the development of schizophrenia. The affected twin was born with a birthweight of 1620 g, whereas the unaffected twin weighed 2300 g at birth. Marked differences in sociability and intelligence were observed between the twins from early childhood. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed high‐intensity signals in the white matter and enlarged ventricles in the affected twin, while no such abnormality was detected in the well twin. This twin pair suggests a possibility that hypoxic brain damage associated with prenatal underdevelopment may be a causal factor for abnormalities in psychosocial development and subsequent schizophrenia.
ISSN:1323-1316
1440-1819
DOI:10.1046/j.1440-1819.2003.01116.x