Cavum septum pellucidum in schizophrenia: a case report

Abstract

Different structural alterations of the central nervous system (CNS), such as an increase in ventricular size, decrease in hippocampus and amygdala volume, and other abnormalities that are probably secondary to a loss of neuronal mass and neuropili (axons and dendrite ramifications) linked to a precocious alteration in neurodevelopment are described in patients with schizophrenia in greater proportion than in the general population. The cavum septum pellucidum is among the alterations whose role in the disease is more unknown, since the cavity between the two septum laminae draws attention in very few cases. According to several studies, this alteration is more frequent in patients with schizophrenia than in healthy subjects and currently its association to the disease is being studied. In the following, we present the case of a 37 year old patient with no outstanding background, who was admitted to our psychiatry department due to psychotic symptoms.