Neurological Soft Signs in Schizophrenia

Overview

Summary:
Češková E.: Neurological Soft Signs in SchizophreniaProblems of soft signs in schizophrenia are summarized, special attention is devoted to neurologicalsoft signs (NSS) in the fi rst-episode schizophrenia. Out of many possibilities how to measure NSS,Neurological Evaluation Scale is most commonly used in psychiatric population. NSS are signifi cantlymore frequent in patients with schizophrenia than in normal population. The range of NSS frequencyis broad and related to the methods used and criteria of evaluation. NSS are present in the initialphase of illness. They are not signifi cantly associated with administration of antipsychotics, butantipsychotics can partially infl uence its prevalence. The occurrence of NSS most frequentlycorrelates with cognitive dysfunction and negative symptoms. Patients with NSS have a worseprognosis. The evaluation of NSS in the initial phase of illness can contribute to the identifi cation ofsubjects with bad prognosis, who, can profi t from early intervention and targeted pharmacotherapy(for example with some atypical antipsychotic drugs). The evaluation should be uniform and bilateral.In the future it will be necessary to integrate the knowledge about NSS with date from brain imagingstudies and elucidate the role of NSS as a potential marker of cognitive dysfunction.

Key words:
neurological soft signs, schizophrenia, fi rst-episode schizophrenia, symptoms, outcome,cognitive dysfunction.