Schizoaffective disorder

Schizoaffective disorder is a psychiatricdiagnosisdescribing a situation where both the symptoms of mood disorderand psychosisare present. The disorder usually begins in early adulthood, and is more common in women.

There are two sub-types of schizoaffective disorder: the bipolar typetype and the depressivetype. The bipolar type has a better prognosis than the depressive type, which can have a residual defect with the passing of time. Bipolar schizoaffective disorder is more similar to bipolar disorderthan schizophrenia. People with bipolar disorder may also suffer from isolated episodes of schizoaffective disorders.

Signs and Symptoms

The following are the criteria for a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-IV):

A. Two (or more) of the following symptoms are present for the majority of a one-month period:

• delusions
• hallucinations
• disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
• grossly disorganized or catatonicbehavior
• negative symptoms (i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition)

Note: Only one of these symptoms is required if delusions are bizarre or hallucinations consist of a voice keeping up a running commentary on the person's behavior or thoughts, or two or more voices conversing with each other.

AND at some time there is either a

• major depressive episode
• manic episode
• mixed episode

B. During the same period of illness, there have been delusions or hallucinations for at least two weeks in the absence of prominent mood symptoms.

C. Symptoms that meet criteria for a mood episodeare present for a substantial portion of the total duration of the active and residual periods of the illness.

D. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition.

Types:

Bipolar Type - if the disturbance includes

• manic episode
• mixed episode
• manic and major depressive episodes
• mixed and major depressive episode

Depressive Type - if the disturbance includes major depressive episodes exclusively.

Treatment

The psychiatric treatment for schizoaffective disorder is a combination of therapy and medicine. A licensed psychiatristwill prescribe different combinations of medicine to the patient in order to find the combination that works. Each person responds differently to medicine.

Common medicines used to treat schizoaffective disorder:

• Depakote ER
• Lithium
• Risperdal
• Seroquel
• Abilify

Often a sleeping pill will initially be prescribed to allow the patient rest from his or her anxiety or hallucinations.

See also

• Schizophrenia
• Psychosis
• Bipolar disorder
• Clinical depression

External links

• Facts about schizoaffective disorder
• Diagnostic criteria from the DSM-IV
• National Alliance of the Mentally Ill: Schizoaffective Disorder
• National Mental Health Association: Schizoaffective Disorder
• Schizoaffective.orgSelf-described as anti-psychiatric and anti-medication
• Facts about schizoaffective disordersFrom Family Social Support Project
• Account of having Schizoaffective disorder
• Schizaffective Disorderby WebMDOfficial WebMD homepagede:Schizoaffektive_Störung

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoaffective+disorder Wikipedia article Schizoaffective disorder.