Schizophrenia in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

ISBN 0 521 79428 5 paperback Every effort has been made in preparing this book to provide accurate and up-to-date information which is in accord with accepted standards and practice at the time of publication. Nevertheless, the authors, editors and publisher can make no warranties that the information contained herein is totally free from error, not least because clinical standards are constantly changing through research and regulation. The authors, editors and publisher therefore disclaim all liability for direct or consequential damages resulting from the use of material contained in this book. Readers are strongly advised to pay careful attention to information provided by the manufacturer of any drugs or equipment that they plan to use. Contents List of contributors page xi Preface xiii 1 Childhood psychosis and schizophrenia: a historical review The late William Ll. Parry-Jones Introduction Historiography of schizophrenia Psychotic juveniles in asylums Premorbid characteristics and borderline disorder Epidemiology Theories of causation Treatment and outcome Conclusions References 2 Definition and classification Helmut Remschmidt Premorbid characteristics Classification according to ICD-10 Classification according to DSM-IV Conclusions References vii 3 Epidemiology of early onset schizophrenia Christopher Gillberg Introduction Childhood autism Asperger syndrome Disintegrative disorder and Rett syndrome variants Landau-Kleffner syndrome and the syndrome of electrical status epilepticus during sleep Very early onset schizophrenia (12 years or under) Adolescent onset schizophrenia (13-19 years of age) Conclusions References

Childhood and Adolescent Schizophrenia and Other Early-Onset Psychoses

“…But the onset of schizophrenia during adolescence and childhood has been accepted already in the twentieth century, and it is even more today. The child, adolescent and adult forms of schizophrenia could be regarded as a qualitatively similar and continuous, while allowing for developmental variation (Remschmidt, 2001). …”

“…Understanding the reality and sharing the same view on reality with other members of the same culture has a strong developmental basis. Young children cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality (Remschmidt, 2001). Therefore, it is extremely difficult to demonstrate psychotic processes until children develop reasonably cognitive and linguistic abilities.…”

“…Early-onset schizophrenia can be divided into a very early-onset or childhood-onset schizophrenia (major symptoms of schizophrenia are present at or under the age of 12) and adolescent-onset schizophrenia (with major symptoms in the 13-19 year age range) (Martin & Volkmar, 2007;Remschmidt, 2001). The lifetime prevalence of schizophrenia is around 1%.…”

Early-Onset Psychosis and Child and Adolescent Schizophrenia

“…Several years ago, an editorial in Nature described schizophrenia as "the worst disease affecting mankind" (1). We know that approximately 1% of the world's population is directly affected by this debilitating psychiatric disorder at some point during their lives (2). Every year, more than 5,000 new articles about schizophrenia spectrum disorders and psychosis are added to PubMed (3).…”

“…The modern construct of EOS differs significantly from that used during much of the twentieth century. Until the early 1970s, children who would now be diagnosed within the autism spectrum would have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and widespread uncertainty existed regarding the validity of a schizophrenia diagnosis in children and adolescents (12). With the introduction of the DSM-III and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th Revision, the specific criteria that were used to define childhood and adolescent schizophrenia were removed: the same criteria have since been used to diagnose schizophrenia in children, adolescents, and adults.…”