Chromosome Findings in Chronic Psychotic Patients

The observation of a higher incidence of sex-chromosome abnormalities amongst patients in mental deficiency and subnormality institutions than in the general population (Macleanet al., 1962; Court Brownet al., 1964) suggested that a sex chromatin survey of a theoretically related chronic psychotic population might be of interest. Mott (1919) observed a high frequency of testicular atrophy in dementia praecox, particularly in patients dying in early adolescence, and Forster (quoted by Mott, 1919) reported on the ovarian findings in similarly affected women. Hemphillet al. (1944) found a high incidence of testicular atrophy in a series of ninety male schizophrenic patients.