Disorders & Medication Schizo-affective disorder. Symptoms of this disorder are both of a psychotic and mood disturbance nature.The psychotic symptoms are similar to those of schizophrenia and include delusions,hallucinations,thought disorders and paranoia.For a diagnosis of schizo-affective disorder to be made mood symptoms must be present together with psychosis in the same episode of illness. There are two categories of this disorder- a manic type and a depressive one.In the manic variety mania is present and there will often be a mood swing into depression.In the depressive type of schizo-affective disorder the symptoms are mainly depressive. The treatment of the disorder usually involoves the prescribing of an anti- psychotic drug and a mood stabilizer,usually lithium.Olanzapine (Zyprexa) is increasingly being used as it has both an anti-psychotic and mood stabilizing effect. Sometimes it is necessary to prescribe an anti-depressant,but this is generally only on a short term basis.The prognosis for schizo-affective disorder is better than for schizophrenia,though the symptoms can be very florid. It is often a recurrent illness but suffers can usually lead fairly normal lives between bouts of illness.The incidence of this disorder is less than for schizophrenia,but a significant number of people are given this diagnosis. Stress plays a large part in the genesis of the illness and it is important to identify potential stressors and taken appropriate measures to cope with them. The causes of schizo-affective disorder are not known but are probably due to defects in several neurotransmitter pathways in the brain.Some psychiatrists believe that it is an intermediary state between schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder. Back to the Disorders & Medication menu