Depression in patients with schizophrenia during an acute psychotic episode

There is disagreement about whether depressive symptoms in schizophrenia ar e part of the basic disease process, or whether they represent adverse effe cts of treatment with antipsychotic medications. In a sample of initially a ntipsychotic drug-free acutely hospitalized patients with schizophrenia (N = 104), we measured change in depressive symptoms after 4 weeks of treatmen t. We also examined the relationship of changes in depressive symptoms to c hanges in positive and negative schizophrenic symptoms. Depressive symptoms improved after 4 weeks of anti-psychotic medication treatment, and their i mprovement corresponded with improvement in both positive and negative schi zophrenic: symptoms. These results suggest that depressive symptoms in schi zophrenia are related to the disease process itself, at least during acute exacerbations of schizophrenia. Depressive symptoms may be responsive to an tipsychotic: medications directly or as a secondary response to improvement in positive and negative symptoms. Copyright (C) 2001 by W.B. Saunders Com pany.