[Effect of aging and senile dementia on the course of schizophrenia].

The author compares the clinical data obtained from 4 groups of elderly patients: schizophrenia that began in young age (n=49), late schizophrenia (n=49), schizoform psychoses in senile dementia (n=72), a combination of senile dementia with a long-standing schizophrenia (n=31). Ageing was associated with changes in the clinical picture of schizophrenia similar to those seen in schizophrenia complicated with senile dementia. Age-related clinical manifestations characteristic for combined schizophrenia and senile dementia are far more pronounced than in cases of natural ageing in schizophrenic patients. Patients with an early onset of schizophrenia had a significantly greater incidence of senile dementia before they reached 60 years.