Robert M. Vidaver

Cavum septum pellucidum in schizophrenia: clinical and neuropsychological correlates.

Increased frequency of cavum septum pellucidum (CSP) has been inconsistently observed in schizophrenia, and little is known about its functional implications. We investigated whether patients with schizophrenia were more likely than healthy controls to have CSP, and among patients assessed the relationship between CSP, psychiatric symptoms, and selected neuropsychological functions. Seventy-seven patients with diagnoses of DSM-IV schizophrenia spectrum disorders and 55 healthy controls were studied and completed a 1.5 T MRI scan. Two raters, blind to group membership, determined the presence, length and grade of the CSP. A subset of participants also underwent neuropsychological testing. A CSP of at least 1 mm in length was present in 68.8% of patients and 76.4% of controls, and the groups did not differ significantly with respect to presence or absence, length, overall size, or percent with an abnormally large CSP (> or =6 mm). Patients with an abnormally large CSP demonstrated poorer performance on measures of verbal learning and memory than patients with smaller CSP. Among patients, CSP length was significantly correlated with negative symptoms, verbal learning, and sentence comprehension. Among patients with abnormally large CSP, CSP length was correlated with reaction time on two conditions of a Continuous Performance Test. CSP, while prevalent, was not more frequent in our sample of patients with schizophrenia, and had few associations with symptom severity or neuropsychological deficits.

Case report of 3 patients with severe mental illness and chronic hepatitis C virus infection treated with interferon-alpha.

We report on three patients with hepatitis C virus infection, severe mental illness, and substance use disorders that we treated successfully with interferon and ribavirin. This population has historically been refused such treatment on the grounds that they were unlikely to be adherent to treatment or would experience untoward psychiatric side effects. These case reports add support to the growing body of evidence that persons with severe mental illness and substance use disorders can be successfully treated for hepatitis C with careful monitoring and psychiatric oversight.