Neuroendocrine differences among subtypes of schizophrenic disorder? An investigation with the dexamethasone...

The plasma cortisol suppression following 1 mg dexamethasone was studied in 45 recently hospitalized female patients who met DSM-III criteria for a schizophrenic (or 'schizophreniform') disorder. 19 patients showed nonsuppression (42%): 4 out of 6 within the disorganized (hebephrenic) subtype, 9 out of 10 within the catatonic subtype, 6 out of 11 within the acute ('schizophreniform') subtype and non of the 18 within the paranoid subtype. The distribution is heterogeneous, suggesting that schizophrenic disorders may contain different conditions in terms of limbic pathology. Catatonic patients revealed a very high frequency of nonsuppression, which may indicate that this subtype shares some features of the affective disorders.