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Auditory brainstem response (ABR) profiling in schizoaffective disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2020

Eva Juselius Baghdassarian*
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Tommy Lewander
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroscience, Psychiatry and Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
*
Author for correspondence: Eva Juselius Baghdassarian, Email: eva.baghdassarian@neuro.uu.se

Abstract

Objective:

The aim of the study was to assess whether the auditory brainstem response (ABR) profiling test for schizophrenia (SZ) would recognise schizoaffective disorder (SZA) patients as SZ or not.

Method:

Male and female SZA patients (n = 16) from the psychosis unit at Uppsala University Hospital were investigated. Coded sets of randomised ABR recordings intermingled with patients with SZ, adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and healthy controls were analysed by an independent party blinded to clinical diagnoses.

Results:

The ABR profiling test for SZ was positive in 5/16 patients (31%) and negative in 11/16 patients (69%) with SZA. A surprising finding was that 4/16 (25%) SZA patients were positive for the ABR profiling test for ADHD.

Conclusion:

With the ABR profiling test, a minority of patients with SZA tested positive for SZ. In contrast, a majority (85%) of patients with SZ in a previous study tested positive. These preliminary results leave us ignorant whether SZA should be regarded as a SZ-like disorder or a psychotic mood disorder and add to the questions regarding the validity of this diagnostic entity. However, the ABR profiling method is still in its infancy and its exploration in a range of psychiatric disorders is warranted.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2020

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