[Comparative evaluation of quality of life in patients with schizophrenia treated with conventional versus atypical neuroleptics: results of a transversal study].

Aim: The World Health Organization has defined quality of life as "the perception of an individual, his/her place in life, in the context of the culture and the system of values in which he/she lives and in relation to his/her objectives, expectations, standards and concerns". The quality of life of the schizophrenic patients has been largely studied for the evaluation of their medical, social and therapeutic needs. The impact of neuroleptics, in particular atypical neuroleptics, on the subjective quality of life of these patients remains to be specified.

The subjective quality of life in deficit and nondeficit schizophrenic patients.

We assessed the subjective quality of life (QOL) of 30 deficit schizophrenic patients compared to 112 nondeficit schizophrenic patients. The deficit patients did not differ in term of QOL, total score of positive symptoms, general psychopathology from the nondeficit patients. This result suggested an absence of impact of primary negative symptoms on the subjective QOL in schizophrenic patients.

["Polydipsia, intermittent hyponatremia and psychoses" syndrome: a diagnosis and therapeutic management of a case].

Polydipsia can be defined as an impulsive behavior leading to absorption of large amounts of water (4 to 20 litres a day), without any underlying organic disease. Its prevalence in a population of chronic psychiatric patients can be as high as 6 to 17%. Schizophrenia represents 80% of cases reported.

Identifying subtypes of schizophrenia by cluster analyses.

The existence of two subtypes of schizophrenia (positive and negative) is well established. The evidence in favor of other subtypes, particularly a disorganized subtype, is still the subject of some debate. The aim of the study reported in this article is to investigate the possibility of further subtypes of schizophrenia by applying a particular method of cluster analysis to a particular set of data.