Study of negatives symptoms in first episode schizophrenia

Background: Prevalence of negative symptoms in the early phase of schizophrenia remains uncertain. Negative symptoms are the primary cause of long term disability and poor functional outcome. The purpose of this study is to examine the presence of negative symptoms in patients with fist episode psychosis in schizophrenia who were hospitalized. Methods: Negative symptoms were measured in 72 patients presenting with FEP using the scale for assessment of negative symptoms (SANS) and ascertained diagnosis using DSM-IV. Prevalence of SANS items and subscales were examined for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Results: This study shows that a significant number of patients with first episode schizophrenia had negative symptoms 66 (87.5%). All five subtypes of negative symptoms were present in 47% of patients suggesting primary negative symptoms, and about 40% have secondary negative symptoms. Independently, each subtype of negative symptoms was seen in 48% - 76% of patients. The most prevalent negative symptom in first-episode schizophrenia was found to be blunting (72%). 46% of patients had significant level of depression, overall psychopathology was severe and level of functioning was poor. We found that 45.8% patients were prescribed anticholinergic medications which indicated that at least 45% subjects had extra-pyramidal symptoms (EPS). Conclusion: Primary negative symptoms are prevalent in about half of First episode Psychosis (FEP) schizophrenia patients. These findings have implications for identification, early treatment, and reduced treatment resistance for negative symptoms in order to increase social and clinical outcome of schizophrenia. Further research is required in this area.

Symptom overlap between schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder: Diagnostic issues

Although the Kraepelinian classification paradigm is widely used, observations of overlapping boundaries among the symptoms associated with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are beginning to challenge this dichotomy. The objective of this research was to explore the symptoms of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and with bipolar mood disorder in order to determine the frequency of symptom overlap. One hundred patients of a psychiatry ward were divided into two main groups based on their diagnosis—schizophrenia or bipolar mood disorder. Chi-square analyses were used to determine whether the symptoms measured in this study differed between individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and those diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder. The results suggest that both positive/manic symptoms and negative/depressive symptoms are present in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and with bipolar mood disorder and, consequently, they do not present a reliable means of differentiating between these two groups. These findings have many implications for the ways in which mental illness is conceptualized and classified. Treatment efforts and interventions may be enhanced if a more dimensional approach to diagnosing mental illness is utilized.