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Are Late-Onset Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders Neurodegenerative Conditions?

Annual Rates of Change on Two Dementia Measures

Received April 6, 2001; revised December 11, 2001; accepted January 28, 2002. From the Departments of Psychiatry (B.W.P., M.W.B., E.W.T., S.G., D.V.J.) and Neuroscience (L.T., D.V.J.), University of California, San Diego, and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (M.W.B., L.T., D.V.J.). Address correspondence to Dr. Palmer, Geriatric Psychiatry Research Center 116A-1, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161. E-mail: bpalmer{at}ucsd.edu

Some investigators assert that emergence of schizophrenia spectrum disorders in mid- to late life (LOSD, i.e., onset after age 45) reflects neurodegenerative processes. The authors examined 1- and 2-year changes among 37 outpatients with LOSDs on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, compared with 69 patients having earlier-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders (EOSD), 67 having Alzheimer's disease (AD) with psychosis, 72 having AD with baseline MMSE scores 24, and 56 normal comparison subjects (NCs). Cognitive changes among LOSD patients were similar to those in EOSD patients and NCs, whereas the AD groups had greater declines. Results support viewing LOSDs as static encephalopathies.

Key Words: Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders • Aging • Neuropsychology

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				H. BRODATY, P. SACHDEV, A. KOSCHERA, D. MONK, and B. CULLEN Long-term outcome of late-onset schizophrenia: 5-year follow-up study The British Journal of Psychiatry, September 1, 2003; 183(3): 213 - 219. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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