Longitudinal Changes of Neurological Soft Signs in Neuroleptic-Naïve Patients with Schizophrenia: A Preliminary Report

Neurologic soft signs (NSS) have been reported to be associated with schizophrenia, but some have argued that neuroleptics may play a role in the development of NSS. The objective of the present study is to examine the relationship between NSS and antipsychotic drugs, by evaluating the changes in NSS of first onset, neuroleptic-naïve schizophrenic patients, before and after one year of neuroleptic treatment. The subjects were 11 neuroleptic-naïve patients (male = 5, female = 6, mean age = 33.3 years) with schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder. The presence of NSS was examined using the Neurological Evaluation Scale - Korean (NES-K) Version. All subjects were evaluated before the treatment was initiated and following one year of treatment. All scores on the NES-K and the subscores of the ‘other’ area significantly decreased following one year of treatment. Even though the results were not statistically significant, the scores of the other three functional categories were lower following one year of treatment. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that NSS in patients with schizophrenia are an epiphenomenon of the neuroleptic treatment. Also, our results indicate that some components of NSS observed in patients with schizophrenia are intrinsic to this illness and independent of the neuroleptic treatment.