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Letter to the Editor Correction of First Rank Symptoms |
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Editorial and Opinion |
G.G. Neffinger |
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I was concerned to read that Kurt Schneider’s ‘First Rank Symptoms’ were labeled as ‘pathognomonic for schizophrenia’ on page 20 of the latest issue of The Independent Practitioner. My [medical] dictionary defines pathognomonic as ‘specifically distinctive or characteristic of a disease or pathological condition; a sign or symptom on which a diagnosis can be made’. Neither of these conditions are met by the Schneiderian First Ranks. When he first proposed them more than 40 years ago, he thought they were pathognomonic since many are quite rare. However, these same symptoms may occur in both psychotic major depression & bipolar disorder, albeit with even less frequency than in schizophrenia. References: Schneider, K. (1959) Clinical Psychopathology. New York: Grune and Stratton Bertelsen, A. (2002) Schizophrenia and Related Disorders: Experience with Current Diagnostic Systems. Psychopathology, 35, 89-93. |
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