title: Comparative Study of Neurological Soft Signs in Patients with Schizophrenia or Obsessive-compulsive Disorder, and Healthy Controls.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary objective of this study was to examine neurological soft signs in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder compared with patients with schizophrenia and a control group in the Indian setting. The secondary objective was to find any correlation between age at onset and neurological soft signs scores, as well as that between severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms (total Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale score) and neurological soft signs scores.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional hospital-based study of 135 individuals (45 patients with schizophrenia, 45 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder who were attending the psychiatric outpatient department of Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India, and 45 matched healthy controls) from 20 June 2013 to 22 December 2014. After applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, the participants completed the study instruments (Cambridge Neurological Inventory [Part 2] and Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale). Their socio-demographic data were also recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The neurological soft signs total score and domain scores (motor coordination, sensory integration, and disinhibition) were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia (p < 0.05) than in the obsessive-compulsive disorder group or the control group. The obsessive-compulsive disorder group did not significantly differ from the control group in terms of neurological soft signs scores. No correlation was found between neurological soft signs scores and age at onset as well as that between neurological soft signs scores and total Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neurological soft signs assessed by the Cambridge Neurological Inventory and Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, which discriminate patients with schizophrenia from controls, appear to be relatively specific to schizophrenia. Further studies are required to explore neurological soft signs in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soni
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tyagi
authors.affiliation: Navjeevan Hospital, Hisar, Haryana, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Neurologic examination; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Schizophrenia