[Latent and simple forms of schizophrenia in the concept of E. Bleuler]. / Latentnaia i prostaia formy shizofrenii v kontseptsii E. Bleuler.

E. Bleuler's concept of latent schizophrenia, its relationship with the form of simple schizophrenia and the foundation of the idea that each form of schizophrenia can be latent are analyzed. Bleuler's interpretation of the meaning of different psychopathological symptoms for the diagnosis of schizophrenia and some innate contradictions of his diagnostic approach (declared criteria of absoluteness) are discussed. Different influences of Bleuler's concept on the following national concepts of schizophrenia and its development in the Russian psychiatry are noted.

[Ludwig II of Bavaria - the "fairy tale king": his last years from a psychiatric point of view]. / Der bayerische "Märchenkönig" Ludwig II. : Seine letzten Jahre aus psychiatrischer Sicht.

Ludwig II of Bavaria (Germany) entered the political stage at the age of 18, following the premature death of his father Maximilian II in 1864. At that time, Ludwig was a very handsome, slender young man; he was enthusiastic and had a pronounced taste for fine arts and music, and was admired by the people as a "fairy tale king". However, already during the first years of his reign, he displayed traits that fulfilled the ICD-10 criteria for schizotypal disorder together with a combined cluster B personality disorder. They became even more pronounced over time. Towards the end of his life, Ludwig developed "imperial madness", a typical pattern of behavioural excesses including craving for power, splendour, construction, unrestrained spending, excessive eating and sexual exploitation, revenge with a tendency for cruelty, and an inclination for theatrical and sometimes irrational acts. This complex syndrome is usually manifested in excessively egocentric rulers who have almost unlimited power or, in the case of Ludwig II, an overwhelming desire to possess it. His imperial madness was possibly contributed to by an orbitofrontal brain syndrome. One conjecture is that this condition reflected a neurodegenerative process; another is that a primary deficit, initiated by brain damage following a severe bout of meningitis during Ludwig's babyhood, played a role. In this case, functional compensation by other brain areas may have eventually been counteracted by chronic substance abuse in his thirties. The monarch's life ended tragically when he was 40 by which time he had become adipose and had lost most of his teeth; meanwhile, he was placed under tutelage, dismissed and detained. Before his death by drowning in Lake Starnberg (suicide? attempted escape??), Ludwig apparently killed his psychiatrist, Bernhard von Gudden, who carelessly served as his sole attendant. Yet Ludwig's image as the beautiful fairy tale king is still alive in the hearts of successive generations of Bavarians and in the fascination demonstrated by the masses of tourists from throughout the world who visit (against his formerly declared wishes) his "dream castles".

Ludwig II, King of Bavaria: a royal medical history.

OBJECTIVE: The case of Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, had soon become synonymous with paranoia, after he had drowned at the age of 40 together with the neuropsychiatrist Gudden. METHOD: We were granted access to the Secret Archive of the House of Wittelsbach to study documents on Ludwig's medical history. RESULTS: The documents underlying Gudden's expert opinion which led to Ludwig being deposed would be insufficient for a diagnosis of schizophrenia according to contemporary standards. The autopsy revealed prominent prefrontal brain atrophy. CONCLUSION: The evidence is compatible with a diagnosis of schizotypal personality and suspected frontotemporal degeneration.

[Ludwig II of Bavaria: schizotypal personality disorder and frontotemporal dementia?]. / Ludwig II. von Bayern--schizotype Persönlichkeit und frontotemporale Degeneration?

Ludwig 2nd, dream-king of Bavaria, has been the subject of medical speculation even during his life and he still is today. Documents from the Secret Archive of the Bavarian State and more widely available information do not support a diagnosis of schizophrenia, but correspond with contemporary criteria for a schizotypal personality disorder. Ludwig's behavioural deterioration during the last months of his life and autopsy findings may indicate incipient frontotemporal degeneration.

Paul E. Meehl's influence on experimental psychopathology: fruits of the nexus of schizotypy and schizophrenia, neurology, and methodology.

Paul E. Meehl made numerous contributions to clinical science and a hallmark of many of these contributions was their integrative nature. Meehl's positions on complex topics, especially one such as schizophrenia, were reflective of input from a variety of disciplines and levels of analysis. In this essay the authors focus on Meehl's uniquely rich contribution to our understanding of schizophrenia through his theoretical model of schizotypy, his abiding interest in exploring neurologically based indicators of schizophrenia liability and encouragement to others to pursue such indicators, and his passion for rigorous research methodology. Meehl's contributions in each of these areas continue to influence the direction and research strategies used in experimental psychopathology to illuminate the fundamental nature of schizophrenia. These contributions have also shaped inquiry into many other psychopathological entities.

Schizophrenia and schizotypal personality: a tribute to Peter H. Venables.

Peter Venables made multiple contributions to the field of schizophrenia and schizotypy, most notably in the areas of psychophysiology, neurocognition, and assessment. On the 50th anniversary of the start of his research career in 1951, a conference on schizophrenia and schizotypy was held in his honor in Tuscany, Italy. This special edition encapsulates many of the presentations given at that meeting, covering the areas of neurodevelopment, assessment, genetics, psychophysiology, neurocognition, brain imaging, psychopharmacology, intervention, and prevention. A key theme of this special edition concerns the integration of schizophrenia and schizotypy research in a manner that will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of both of these disorders.

Esquizofrenia latente e distúrbio de personalidade esquizotípico: uma contribuiçäo ao estudo de conceitos / Latent schizophrenia and personality's schizotypical disturb: a contribution to the study of that so called nosological concept

TEMA: Um estudo da evoluçäo dos conceitos de quadros semelhantes à Esquizofrenia, sem caracterizarem psicose franca. Os objetivos desta revisäo consistem em delimitar as definiçöes mais utilizadas pelos principais sistemas diagnósticos contemporâneos (da APA e da OMS), permitindo assim a caracterizaçäo de pontos de convergência e de divergência que possam ser sujeitos a pesquisa clínica para confirmaçäo ou refutaçäo . REFERENCIAS: Obras clássicas e publicaçöes oficiais da OMS e da APA sobre nosologia e clínica psiquiátrica e revisäo de artigos publicados em periódicos nos últimos 50 anos, com ênfase nos últimos 15 anos, a partir do estabelecimento de critérios diagnósticos. COMENTARIOS CRITICOS: Observa-se que, inicialmente, os quadros entre a normalidade e a "loucura" (psicoses) säo relacionados à esquizofrenia (quadros latentes) tanto na prática asilar como na prática psicoterapêutica ambulatorial. A partir da década de 50, säo também relacionados a Doenças Afetivas ou vistos como entidades diferentes desses quadros psicóticos. Nos últimos anos chega-se a uma síndrome "fronteiriça" ligada à Esquizofrenia (Distúrbio Esquizotípico de Personalidade)

Historical perspectives on the borderline concept: a review and critique.

Considerable confusion and disagreement remains in the psychiatric literature over the meaning of the term borderline. Over the last ten years a veritable explosion of books and articles on the subject have espoused overlapping and at times contradictory ideas on entirely different levels of discourse: biological, genetic, pharmacological, objective-descriptive, ego psychology theory, object relations theory, separation-individuation theory, and so on. Together, they seem both bewildering and irreconcilable. Despite DSM III's efforts to impose conceptual clarity, the situation remains a semantic mess. "Borderline" still means different things to different people and still tends to be a wastebasket diagnosis. No definition has been entirely satisfactory. This article is a preliminary effort at synthesis and explication of how and why psychiatry has arrived at this state of affairs.

Diagnostic approaches to schizotypal personality disorder: a historical perspective.

The goal of this article is to provide a historical perspective on the DSM-III concept of schizotypal personality disorder. It is argued that two major traditions have influenced our conceptualization of this diagnostic entity. The first or familial approach emphasizes the characteristic traits found in the deviant but nonpsychotic relatives of schizophrenics. The second or clinical approach focuses on patients who appear to demonstrate the fundamental symptoms of schizophrenia without psychotic symptoms or severe personality deterioration. A review of these two traditions concludes that while similar in some regards, they also differ in important ways in their views on the characteristics of the true "schizotype." The impact of these two traditions is then traced through the Danish Adoption Studies of Kety et al. to the development of the DSM-III criteria for schizotypal personality by Spitzer, Endicott, and Gibbon. Finally, the article reviews recent studies on the validity of specific criteria for schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) and reassesses the conceptual issue about the nature of the relationship of SPD to schizophrenia on the one hand and to other personality disorders on the other.

Was Thomas Wolfe a borderline?

The distinction between the two types of borderline proposed by Spitzer, Endicott, and Gibbon--the Schizotypal Personality type of borderline and the Borderline Personality type of borderline--suggests an advance in our thinking about the borderline concept. However, it can be shown, at least in the case of Thomas Wolfe, that an appreciable amount of overlap exists between the two borderline types, in the sense that the same person can load substantially on items from both types. Such findings may tend to blur the distinction between the two types. Also, Wolfe, hailed as a genius, manifested unusual behaviors which are rarely observed and may constitute a form of borderline condition that challenges current diagnosis.