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(Stroke. 1998;29:1149-1154.)
© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Cerebral Blood Flow Velocity in Acute Schizophrenic Patients

A Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography Study

Ammar Owega, MD; Jürgen Klingelhöfer, MD; Osama Sabri, MD; Hanns Jürgen Kunert, PhD; Matthias Albers, MD; Henning Saß, MD

From the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (A.O., H.J.K., M.A., H.S.) and Nuclear Medicine (O.S.), University of Technology (RWTH), Aachen, Germany, and the Department of Neurology (J.K.), Technical University, Munich, Germany.

Correspondence to Ammar Owega, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Technology (RWTH), Pauwelsstrasse 30, D-52074 Aachen, Germany.

Background and Purpose—The aim of this study was to determine whether acutely psychotic first-episode schizophrenics show an increased cerebral blood flow velocity and whether this condition is reversible on psychopathological improvement.

Methods—In the first of two examinations, transcranial Doppler ultrasonography and assessment with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were performed on 28 acutely psychotic, neuroleptically naive, first-episode schizophrenics. In the second examination, the same patients were assessed psychometrically (PANSS) as well as with Doppler ultrasonography after psychopathological improvement.

Results—Acutely psychotic first-episode schizophrenics showed a significant increase of the mean velocity on both sides in the middle and anterior cerebral arteries and in the right posterior cerebral artery. Blood flow showed significant correlations with productive psychotic symptoms. After psychopathological improvement there was a bilateral normalization of the mean velocity in the middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral arteries.

Conclusions—Acutely psychotic first-episode schizophrenics show a significantly increased bilateral cerebral blood flow velocity, which normalizes on psychopathological improvement. There were significant correlations of cerebral blood flow velocity with psychopathology.

Key Words: blood flow velocity • cerebral blood flow • schizophrenia • ultrasonography, Doppler

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