Abstract
BackgroundSchizophrenia is a severe mental illness in which, despite the growing number of antipsychotics from 30 to 50% of patients remain resistant to treatment. Many resistance factors have been identified. Dissociation as a clinical phenomenon is associated with a loss of integrity between memories and perceptions of reality. Dissociative symptoms have also been found in patients with schizophrenia of varying severity. The established dispersion of the degree of dissociation in patients with schizophrenia gave us reason to look for the connection between the degree of dissociation and resistance to therapy.MethodsThe type of study is correlation analysis. 106 patients with schizophrenia were evaluated. Of these, 45 with resistant schizophrenia and 60 with clinical remission. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scales were used to assess clinical symptoms. The assessment of dissociative symptoms was made with the scale for dissociative experiences (DES). Statistical methods were used to analyze the differences in results between the two groups of patients.ResultsPatients with resistant schizophrenia have a higher level of dissociation than patients in remission. This difference is significant and demonstrative with more than twice the level of dissociation in patients with resistant schizophrenia.The level of dissociation measured in patients with resistant schizophrenia is as high as the points on the DES in dissociative personality disorder.ConclusionPatients with resistant schizophrenia have a much higher level of dissociation than patients in clinical remission. The established difference between the two groups support to assume that resistance to the administered antipsychotics is associated with the presence of high dissociation in the group of resistant patients. These results give us explanation to think about therapeutic options outside the field of antipsychotic drugs as well as to consider different strategies earlier in the diagnostic process.
Highlights
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness in which, despite the growing number of antipsychotics from 30 to 50% of patients remain resistant to treatment
The mean value of the dissociative symptoms scale found in all patients with schizophrenia was 29.1356, standard deviation was 22.3898, and the lowest and highest values were 0 and 97, respectively
We find a high degree of dissociation in patients with resistant schizophrenia
Summary
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness in which, despite the growing number of antipsychotics from 30 to 50% of patients remain resistant to treatment. Dissociation and Resistant Schizophrenia changes in attention and working memory In addition to these clinically important symptoms for the diagnosis of schizophrenia, depressive, anxious, and cognitive symptoms are common if not always present [1]. These psychiatric manifestations are associated with metabolic, lipid, and immune changes, often requiring additional therapeutic approaches [2, 3]. Impaired cognitive assessment of reality and self-perception is associated with changes in behavior and the appearance of typical symptoms of schizophrenia associated with metabolic disorders as well as changes in neural connections between brain regions [7]. This complex picture of changes in perception, behavior, metabolic characteristics, and functional connectivity makes schizophrenia a therapeutic challenge
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
