title: Clinical and etiopathogenic specificities of the French concept of psychose hallucinatoire chronique compared to schizophrenia.
abstract: The French concept of psychose hallucinatoire chronique (PHC) is characterized by late-onset psychosis, occurring predominantly in females. Symptoms are rich and frequent hallucinations but almost no dissociative features or negative symptoms. This diagnosis is classified among schizophrenia disorders (paranoid type) according to DSM-IV. PHC may also describe a group of patients with original clinical presentation and etiopathogenic factors. We compared 38 female PHC patients with two groups of female schizophrenia patients, matched for age at interview for the first group (n = 35), and duration of the disorder for the second group (n = 36). PHC subjects were relatively older patients with homogeneous clinical features characterized by predominantly positive symptoms without deterioration and fewer relatives with schizophrenia than schizophrenia patients. This first controlled study underscores clinical, phenomenological, and possibly etiopathogenic factors that characterized the PHC patients, even when the impact of late onset and late age at interview were taken into account. This study provides evidence that PHC may be a possible diagnosis in clinical practice, although it is difficult to reach a conclusion on its relationship with schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U288, Faculty of Pitié-Salpétrière Hospital, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dubertret
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adès
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gorwood
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D009626:Terminology as Topic