Progressiveness of schizophrenia. II. The progressiveness of continuously proceeding forms of schizophrenia

: The study involved a clinical examination of 568 patients with continious forms of schizophrenia and different degrees of progression (from mild sluggish to malignant forms). The following stages of the diseases are differentiated: an initial one, a stage of the highest process activity, a stage of stabilization, reduction of the psychosis and formation of the terminal state. A thorough analysis of the cases demonstrated that even in a continuous development of schizophrenia, the progression of the process is limited in time. It was found that the more polymorphic and severe are the signs of the process in active phase, the less is the time taken by this phase. In compliance with varying duration of the active stages of the disease the age periods during which there ensue a stabilization of the malignant, sluggish and paranoid forms of schizophrenia are very diverse.