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Onset and Prodromal Phase as Determinants of the Course

  • Conference paper
Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia

Abstract

Under the contemporary conditions of mental health care, the first contact with mental health services of persons falling ill with schizophrenia is usually precipitated by the dramatic symptoms of the first psychotic episode. In most cases this event is preceded by an extended period of a more or less rapid accumulation of non-specific, negative and, finally, positive symptoms, which was already more or less known to Emil Kraepelin (1909–1915) and Eugen Bleuler (1911), the creators of the disease concept. In 1909 Kraepelin identified as the “…prodromal signs of schizophrenia: small changes- in emotional life, irritability, loss of interest, overactivity and poor concentration”. The early, almost hidden illness phase is of great theoretical interest, but not easily accessible by research tools. For this reason it was long paid remarkably little attention.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Schizophrenia Research Unit, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

    H. Häfner, K. Maurer, W. Löffler, W. an der Heiden, A. Stein, R. Könnecke & M. Hambrecht

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  1. H. Häfner
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  2. K. Maurer
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  3. W. Löffler
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  4. W. an der Heiden
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  5. A. Stein
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  6. R. Könnecke
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  7. M. Hambrecht
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, P.O. Box 3671, 05403-010, São Paul, SP, Brazil

    Wagner F. Gattaz M.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

  2. University of Heidelberg, Germany

    Heinz Häfner (Prof. em. of Psychiatry, Director em., Head) (Prof. em. of Psychiatry, Director em., Head)

  3. Central Institute of Mental Health, Germany

    Heinz Häfner (Prof. em. of Psychiatry, Director em., Head) (Prof. em. of Psychiatry, Director em., Head)

  4. Schizophrenia Research Unit, P.O.Box 122 120, 68072, Mannheim, Germany

    Heinz Häfner (Prof. em. of Psychiatry, Director em., Head) (Prof. em. of Psychiatry, Director em., Head)

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© 1999 Dr. Dietrich Steinkopff Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, Darmstadt

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Häfner, H. et al. (1999). Onset and Prodromal Phase as Determinants of the Course. In: Gattaz, W.F., Häfner, H. (eds) Search for the Causes of Schizophrenia. Steinkopff. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-47076-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-47076-9_3

  • Publisher Name: Steinkopff

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-47078-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-47076-9

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