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Olfactory Deficits May Be a Signal for Early Psychosis

Smell identification deficits exist in children with early-onset psychotic disorder, just as they do in adults, and can be a marker for underlying neurodevelopmental pathophysiology that leads to vulnerability for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, said Dr. Cheryl Corcoran and her colleagues at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City.

In addition, children with both intact smell identification and psychotic disorders can have a more affective illness with fewer negative symptoms and less neuropsychological impairment, the investigators said (Schizophr. Res. 2005;80:283–93).

In a study of 26 children aged 11–17 years, microsmia (significant smell deficit) was present in 8 of the 13 children with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, 4 of 5 depressed children, and none of the 3 patients with bipolar disorder or 5 with psychosis not otherwise specified. Of those with microsmia, two-thirds had schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and one-third had major depression with psychotic features, Dr. Corcoran and her associates reported.

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