Am J Psychiatry 1987; 144:415-425
Copyright © 1987 by American Psychiatric Association
Schizoaffective mania reconsidered
DF Levinson and ME Levitt
Schizoaffective mania refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders
characterized by mixtures of schizophrenic and manic (or bipolar) symptoms.
Of the proposed diagnostic criteria, the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC)
most clearly distinguish relevant subgroups. Family, clinical, and
treatment studies suggest that the RDC's mainly affective subtype of
schizoaffective mania is a variant of psychotic bipolar disorder. Limited
available data suggest that the mainly schizophrenic subtype has a poorer
prognosis and includes cases more closely related to schizophrenia.
Schizoaffective mania also overlaps with proposed categories such as
reactive and cycloid psychosis. It is premature to assume that all
schizoaffective manic disorder represents a bipolar variant. Further
studies that differentiate patients according to subtype, drug response,
and course are needed.
