Until the 1970s, schizophrenia tended to be broadly defined in the
United States, and the diagnosis subsumed patients who had affective as
well as schizophrenic symptoms. With the introduction of lithium, however,
manic-depressive illness became susceptible to treatment and gained
attractiveness as a diagnosis. The ambiguous position of patients with
schizoaffective disorder became clear. Cross-sectionally they were seen to
resemble schizophrenic patients, but longitudinally they were more akin to
patients with affective disorder. Numerous studies have attempted to
establish that they are diagnostically distinct, but without clear results.
The authors suggest that schizoaffective disorder is heterogeneous and that
its treatment should be determined by specific indices as to its
subtype.Abstract Teaser