Publications by authors named "Christina Bottmer"
Background: The literature suggests that the early course of schizophrenia is a strong predictor of long-term outcome. We sought to test this notion in a sample of first-episode patients.
Sampling And Methods: Forty patients with a first episode of DSM-IV diagnoses of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or schizophreniform disorder were assessed with well-established instruments such as the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Strauss-Carpenter Scale.
The expression and perception of expressed emotion (EE) in schizophrenic patients and their relatives are likely to differ. The presented exploratory study compares the two views. EE in relatives of 25 chronic schizophrenic patients was assessed using an extended version of the Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeurological soft signs in first-episode schizophrenia: a follow-up study.
Am J Psychiatry
December 2005
Objective: Neurological soft signs are frequently found in schizophrenia. They are indicators of both genetic liability and psychopathological symptoms. To further differentiate "trait" and "state" relations the authors compared the 1-year course of neurological soft signs in schizophrenia patients and comparison subjects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent studies indicate that morphological and functional abnormalities of the cerebellum are associated with schizophrenia. Since the cerebellum is crucial for motor coordination, one may ask whether the respective changes are associated with motor dysfunction in the disease. To test these hypotheses in a clinical study, we investigated cerebellar volumes derived from volumetric magnetic resonance imaging of 37 first-episode patients with schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective disorder and 18 healthy controls matched for age, gender and handedness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- The study examined the expressed emotion (EE) status of relatives of patients with first-episode and chronic schizophrenia and depression, focusing on whether there were significant differences between these groups.
- Both groups showed similar levels of high EE, with 52.5% for first-episode and 45% for chronic patients, indicating that family emotional involvement does not vary significantly with the stage of illness.
- Additionally, the EE indices for relatives of those with schizophrenia were comparable to those of depressed patients, suggesting that high EE is not specific to any particular disorder or illness progression.