Paranoid Schizophrenia versus Schizoaffective Disorder: Neuropsychological Aspects

anon79999497 · October 29, 2015, 1:59pm

CONCLUSION:

In the remission phase, patients with paranoid schizophrenia expressed cognitive disorders in moderate degree, but when it comes to patients with schizoaffective disorder, more massive cognitive, deficits were registered.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Paranoid Schizophrenia versus Schizoaffective Disorder: Neuropsychological Aspects.

L Leposavić, I Leposavić, B Šaula-Marojević and P Gavrilović, Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo, Jul-Aug 2015

Neuropsychological aspects of paranoid schizophrenia have still not been examined enough.These disorders are usually not studied separately, but are included in the studies about schizophrenic patients with positive symptoms. Despite the fact that schizophrenia represents a heterogeneous group of mental disorders, usually it is not separated from schizoaffective disorder in neuropsychological researches.The essence of this research is to evaluate cognitive functioning of patients with paranoid schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder by applying neuropsychological tests.The research included 91 subjects, right handed, from 30 to 53 years old, who were classified into three groups: inpatients with paranoid schizophrenia in remission (n=31), inpatients with schizoaffective disorder in remission (n=30) and healthy subjects (n=30).Both groups of patients showed poorer achievements than healthy subjects in most of the applied tests. Patients with schizoaffective disorder showed global loss of intellectual efficiency, executive dysfunction and compromised visual-construction organization. Patients with paranoid schizophrenia expressed partial loss of intellectual efficiency with verbal IQ and executive functions preserved.In the remission phase, patients with paranoid schizophrenia expressed cognitive disorders in moderate degree, but when it comes to patients with schizoaffective disorder, more massive cognitive, deficits were registered.

neveragain · October 29, 2015, 2:06pm

The scientists really seem to have a heyday over how they just sling around the diagnosis.

To me, you have schizophrenia or you don’t. There’s no offshoot, there’s no sister diagnosis…it’s just schizo or not schizo.

I dunno every aspect, but I can tell you things have gotten alot better for me concerning the illness which is why I haven’t really been on the site venting about my personal issues. I’ve kind of kept an eye on posts though and it’s cool.

You always have great articles to post! Sooner or later I’ll begin the transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy. The VA didn’t approve to do it locally in my hometown in Illinois, so I’ll probably have to go to the VA hospital in Madison WI to get it done.

I hate commuting.

anon79999497 · October 29, 2015, 2:17pm

So people with schizophrenia symptoms and mood symptoms have schizophrenia or do they have a mood disorder?

anon63589023 · October 29, 2015, 2:47pm

Seems like it would be natural for someone with schizophrenia to be in a bad mood at times…that’s what I always thought.

Skims · October 29, 2015, 3:15pm

My pdoc explained to me yesterday, that you should think of each of these dx on a bell curve, be it Sz, SZA, or psychosis.

Everyone has a different level of functioning. Some are at one end of the bell curve or the other, while most lie in the middle. This graph doesn’t really explain what I mean.

Edit: what I’m trying to say is that not all sza will experience massive, global cognitive deficits, more likely that most will fall in the moderate category. I mean the study only had 30 Inpatients in each group.

anon63589023 · October 29, 2015, 3:17pm

Interesting though nonetheless

Skims · October 29, 2015, 3:24pm

Haha. This is why pdocs don’t like dx sza and depression with psychosis. Plus it’s so common for Sz to present with depression.

Edit: not laughing at you, just find humor in the problem of it all.

anon79999497 · October 29, 2015, 3:35pm

Perhaps they should just have a unitary “psychosis spectrum” diagnosis covering from the extremes of schizophrenia to things with short lived spells of psychosis.

Rhubot · October 29, 2015, 4:02pm

I would like to hear an update on how the change to “integration disorder” is working in Japan. Schizophrenia seems so inadequate and misleading.

Skims · October 29, 2015, 4:03pm

That makes the most sense. That’s the chapter in my textbook “Sz Spectrum and other psychotic disorders” except it leaves out depression and bipolar with psychosis.

ginalovea · October 30, 2015, 5:12am

What does integration disorder mean? And who does it cover?