schizoaffective disorder | Acta Medica Marisiensis

Clinical Aspects of the Schizoaffective Disorder in Comparison with Schizophrenia After a 15-year Evolution

Bredicean Cristina^1,3, Ienciu Monica^1,2, Papava I.^1,3, Salva Emanuela², Mihalcea Roxana², Popa Ica³,
Ile L.^2,3

1 Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara
2 Psychiatric Clinic Eduard Pamfil, Timisoara
3 Mara Institute, Timisoara

Background: Schizoaffective disorder is currently one of the debated nosological categories, nowadays existing more controversial suppositions regarding its ranging.
Aim: The assumption of this study was that schizoaffective disorder is a version of schizophrenic disorder.
Methods: In pursuit of this supposition, two groups of subjects were selected, called group A, which includes subjects diagnosed with current schizoaffective disorder – according to ICD 10 – and group B, who were diagnosed with current schizophrenia. The two groups were relatively analyzed aiming at socio-demographic and clinical parameters at first admission and clinical evolution and global functioning 15 years past the first episode.
Results: The results showed that there are differences on diagnosis at first hospitalization in subjects who subsequently developed schizoaffective disorder, which could have been produced by an episode of schizophrenia, an episode of acute and transient psychosis or an affective episode. Also, the long-term outcome of the subjects showed differences between the two groups regarding the number of hospitalizations – which is much higher in subjects from schizoaffective group than in those with schizophrenia. The schizoaffective disorder group shows superior professional and family functioning in comparison with the group diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Conclusions: The conclusion of this study is that schizoaffective disorder is a nosological entity different from schizophrenia. In order to clarify its nosological status, neurophysiologic, laboratory examinations and family studies are needed.

A Comparative Study of Affective Bipolar Disorder with Schizoaffective Disorder from a Longitudinal Perspective

Milin Miruna¹, Lăzărescu M², Racolţa Anca², Silvoşeanu C², Bredicean Cristina³

1 PhD Student, Victor Babeș University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timișoara, Romania
2 Timișoara Psychiatric Clinic, Timișoara, Romania
3 Department of Neurosciences, Victor Babes University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timișoara, Romania

DOI: 10.2478/amma-2013-0051

Introduction: In the last years there is a great interest for the theory of the “psychotic continuum”, which accepts that there is a transition between schizophrenia and affective pathology, including bipolar disorder with psychotic interferences and the recently introduced diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. There are few studies that analyze bipolar disorder with mood-incongruent psychosis. The purpose of this study was to observe the way in which the interference of mood-incongruent psychotic symptoms can influence the long term evolution of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the similarities that exists between this type of pathology and schizoaffective disorder.
Material and methods: Sixty subjects were selected, who are now diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder, with and without psychotic features. All cases have at least 15 years of evolution since the first episode of psychosis and were analyzed in term of their age of onset and longitudinal evolution.
Results: The results showed that bipolar patients who had mood incongruent psychotic symptoms had an earlier age of onset and a higher rate of hospitalizations in their long term evolution compared to bipolar patients without psychotic features, which brings them closer to patients with schizoaffective disorder in term of their pattern of evolution.
Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that the interference of mood-incongruent psychosis with bipolar disorder determines a worse prognosis of this disease, very similar with the evolution of patients with schizoaffective disorder.