ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the association of duration of untreated psychosis(DUP) and the gray matter volumes in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.Methods 39 patients with first-episode schizophrenia were divided into two groups according to DUP:long-DUP group and short-DUP group.All the subjects underwent T1 weighted magnetic resonance imaging.After transformed with MRIcro software,all the images underwent standardization,segmentation,modulation and smoothing with Statistical Parametric Mapping 5 (SPM5) software.The gray matter volumes of the two groups underwent two-sample t-test with a Voxel-based morphometry (VBM)using SPM5 software.Results Long-DUP schizophrenic patients presented significantly reduced GM volume in the left thalamus(MNI:-6,-16,2;cluster=141 voxels)and the left temporal lobe(MNI:-46,-58,-6;cluster=69 Voxels),compared with short-DUP schizophrenic patients.Conclusion Delayed DUP may increase the loss of gray matter in schizophrenia.