Simple schizophrenia: past, present, and future

Article Abstract:

In the recently published revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third edition - a reference book for the classification and diagnosis of psychiatric disorders - the term 'simple schizophrenia' has been omitted as a diagnostic category and it has been replaced by the term 'schizotypal personality'. Although usage of the earlier term has generally been discontinued in the United States, it remains in ICD-9 (International Classification of Diseases, ninth edition), a text which is used internationally. The authors believe the deletion is premature and simple schizophrenia should be reinstated as a diagnostic category in the forthcoming DSM-IV, as the nature of this disorder is not adequately described elsewhere. This condition was originally documented in the late nineteenth century by psychiatrists who classified it as a simple primary dementia syndrome. Subsequent investigators, Otto Diem and Eugen Bleuler, further described the condition and Kraepelin characterized simple schizophrenia, which he initially termed 'dementia praecox', as a specific disease. The scope and definition of this disorder have frequently changed over that last several decades. As a result the term 'schizophrenia' has become quite broad and the term 'simple schizophrenia' has been thought to be somewhat vague. However, further research is recommended before this classification be eliminated. The authors have enclosed an appendix entitled "Proposed Criteria for Simple Schizophrenia (Simple Deteriorated State)" to assist in clarifying and defining simple schizophrenia. Included in the appendix are the description and duration of symptoms, criteria for the elimination of other possibilities such as organic causes, and the consideration of patient's history.

Research, History, Identification and classification, Personality disorders, Schizoaffective disorders, Schizoaffective disorder, Kraepelin, Emil, Diem, Otto, Bleuler, Eugen

---

Cortical magnetic resonance imaging changes in elderly inpatients with major depression

Article Abstract:

More than a decade ago, researchers first found evidence that the brain structure of patients with depression can differ from those without depression. These changes have been linked with deficiencies in cognitive performance and, in the case of enlargement of the ventricles, with a higher death rate. It is not clear whether the changes seen in the brain structure of elderly depressed patients differ from the changes seen in elderly patients with dementia. To further study this, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain were obtained for 21 patients with major depression, 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease (a type of dementia), and 14 age-matched controls. All patients were over 60 years of age, and MRI scans were rated by individuals who were not aware of patients' diagnoses. When compared with those of control subjects, MRI scans of depressed subjects showed greater amounts of atrophy in certain areas of the brain, the extent of which was correlated with the age of onset of depression. Depressed patients had abnormal enlargements in other structures (such as ventricles) as well. While the MRI scans of depressed patients differed significantly from control subjects, scans of depressed patients and those of patients with dementia did not differ on any measure. Whether these structural changes can be correlated with outcome is not yet known. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Psychological aspects, Aged, Elderly, Physiological aspects, Depression, Mental, Depression (Mood disorder), Dementia, Brain damage

---

Temporal lobe pathology in schizophrenia: a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging study

Article Abstract:

It has been established that schizophrenic patients have larger cerebral ventricles than normal patients, but the actual site of any concomitant tissue loss remains elusive. By analyzing magnetic resonance scans with computerized image analysis, the authors measured the volume of gray and white matter in the temporal lobes and prefrontal regions of 17 patients with schizophrenia and of 17 normal subjects of the same age and sex. The volume of temporal lobe gray matter was 20 percent smaller in schizophrenics than normal patients. The lateral ventricular volume was 67 percent larger in the patients, and the larger the ventricular volume, the smaller the volume of the temporal lobe gray matter. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Temporal lobes

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: The reliability of bioelectrical impedance analysis for measuring changes in the body composition of patients with anorexia nervosa
• Abstracts: Stigmatization and quality of life in patients with epilepsy. Sociopsychological status of epileptic patients who decline to complete WHO QOL-100 technique
• Abstracts: Meaning making and management action. Social information processing and group-induced shifts in responses to task design
• Abstracts: Leadership succession: tactics for change. Career commitment: functions, correlates, and management
• Abstracts: The Delphi technique: an empirical evaluation of the optimal number of rounds. The social information processing model of task design: conflicting cues and individual differences

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.