title: Neurological soft signs in never-treated schizophrenia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Studies of Neurological Soft Signs (NSS) in schizophrenia are confounded by handedness, inconsistent methodology, and prior treatment with neuroleptics. The study objective is to examine NSS in never-treated schizophrenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined the NSS in treatment-naïve schizophrenia patients (n = 21) and age, sex, education, and handedness matched normal controls (n = 21) using the modified Neurological Evaluation Scale with good inter-rater reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Schizophrenia patients had significantly more NSS than normals. No significant correlation was found between illness duration and NSS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Higher neurological signs in never-treated patients and their lack of association with illness duration suggest neurodevelopmental etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Venkatasubramanian
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Latha
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Gangadhar
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Janakiramaiah
authors.forename: D K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Subbakrishna
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Jayakumar
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keshavan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012737:Sex Factors