Many schizophrenia patients remain undiagnosed and untreated for long periods of time. It has been suggested that untreated psychosis may have deleterious neurotoxic effects. However, studies examining the correlates of untreated initial psychosis duration have been mixed. Previous MRI studies have reported no significant correlations between duration of untreated initial psychosis and brain volumes but have not examined specific brain regions that may be most susceptible to neuronal damage.
Center for Bipolar Disorders Research, Department of Psychiatry, 2880 JPP, University of Iowa College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Dr., Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. beng-ho@uiowa.edu
