NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA AND THE DEXAMETHASONE SUPPRESSION TEST

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) was administered to 30 inpati ents who met the DSM-III-R criteria for chronic schizophrenia and shar ed similar environments. Four of them (13%) were DST nonsuppressors. T he mean and maximum postdexamethasone cortisol levels were correlated with the patient's score on the scale for the Schedule for the Assessm ent of Negative Symptoms and with the score on the anergia subscale of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. None of the correlations were sta tistically significant. Furthermore, the scores on the above scales we re not significantly correlated with clinical variables such as durati on of illness, number of admissions or length of hospitalization, nor were any significant correlations found between the postdexamethasone cortisol levels and the score on the Beck Depression Inventory. In add ition, depressed and nondepressed schizophrenics did not differ regard ing the rate of nonsuppression and the postdexamethasone cortisol leve ls. This study found that: 1) dexamethasone nonsuppression in schizoph renia was not related to the presence of negative symptoms; 2) there w as no relationship between negative symptoms and illness variables; an d 3) the depressed schizophrenics did not display increased nonsuppres sion compared with nondepressed schizophrenics.