[Schizophrenia in childhood and adolescence]

An analysis of 24 schizophrenic patients, treated at the psychiatric clinic in Plzen during the last 20 years with the onset of the disease in childhood or adolescence. Not a single case was observed with onset of the disease under the age of 10 years, at the age of 10-14 years six times, at the age of 15-18 years 18 times. In the group boys predominated insignificantly. In about one quarter of the patients the disease started as acute psychosis, most frequently with amentiform, less frequently with paranoid-hallucinatory or manioform symptomatology. With a slow onset of the disease in three quarters of the patients the symptomatology was paranoid or paranoid hallucinatory. After five years the majority of patients lived a civil life but only a small proportion was able to engage in unskilled working activity. After 10 years none of the patients were able to engage in any activity and 30% of the patients were hospitalized on a long-term basis in psychiatric institutes.