Lifetime hypomanic symptoms in remitted patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders

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Abstract
BACKGROUND:

Clinical, genetic and neuroimaging studies indicated strong evidence against traditional diagnostic separation of bipolar disorder from schizophrenia. In this study, we aimed to evaluate hypomanic symptoms and influence on general functioning among psychotic patients.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS:

Patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders were assessed between June and September 2010. Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), Hypomania Check List-32 (HCL-32), Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ) and General Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAS) were applied to all 93 patients. Answers of self-rating scales were confirmed with hospital records.
RESULTS:

Mean age was 35.7±9.5 years, mean age of onset was 20.3±5.3 years and duration of illness was 15.4±9.2 years. 30.1% of the patients, had a history of mood stabilizer treatment taken at least one month while one five of the patients had different psychiatric diagnosis other than current diagnosis. 26.9% of the patients with psychotic disorders had positive scores on both MDQ and HCL-32 but there were no significant difference between patients in terms of general functioning (p=0.82).
CONCLUSIONS:

As reported in this study, there is no simple, clear-cut between schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder.

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I’m pretty clueless at times but 2010! Wouldn’t this research be obsolete since they found the genetic links between autism, attention deficit disorder, bipolar disease, major depression, and schizophrenia towards the beginning of this year? ,

But anyway back in the late 80’s when this all started for me I was diagnosed manic schizophrenia. Constant changes in my physic file since of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

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Genetic links are different from saying they are all best seen as one diagnosis

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So I read it wrong and the genetic link find is most likely why they need to consider revising the way they diagnoses? Which thinking on it from resent studies some Bipolar patients can take up to 20 years to get a correct diagnosis and start to get the right medication and that’s just confusing depression.

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I’m just saying things like degree of overlap in mood and thought symptoms would also have to come into play before saying they are on a diagnostic continuum rather than separate diagnoses

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I do think that an overlap sometimes exists when it comes to SZ and bipolar - I dont think that the diagnosis of schizoaffective is all that helpful