Measurements of the orbital soft tissue in schizophrenic patients

Abstract

Objective: Minor physical anomalies are seen commonly in face, eye, mouth, hand and feet areas and have been considered to have a prenatal origin, possibly during the first and the second trimester when most ectodermic derivatives are under development. Since both the brain and skin are derived from common embryonic origin, minor physical anomalies probably represent indices of disturbance in early neurodevelopment. The aim of the present study is to determine morphometrically the orbital soft tissue features in order to demonstrate any possible correlation between schizophrenia and orbital features. Method: The study was performed on 34 schizophrenic patients (18 males, 16 females), and 30 healthy control group (15 males, 15 females). The photographic measurements were performed in computer graphic reconstruction. The measurement parameters were interpupillary distance, intercanthal distance, palpebral fissure length, palpebral fissure height, binocular distance and inclination of the eye fissure. Results: Palpebral fissure length was significantly shorter in the patient group than the control group both in males and females. In the females intercanthal distances was higher in the patients than in the controls. The other measurements had no statistical differences in both sexes. Conclusion: The results of present study show that some orbital soft tissue measurements such as palpebral fissure length and intercanthal distances have significant differences in schizophrenic patients. This results needs confirmation with wider studies, which may help to contribute to the elucidation of the nature of schizophrenia.