| Abstract [eng] |
Background. Schizophrenia is a common, severe mental illness, usually recognised by typical positive symptoms of hallucinations, delusions (of persecution, wrongdoing) and unusual antisocial behaviourHowever, recent studies have shown that negative symptoms of schizophrenia are just as important for patient‘s course of disease as positive ones, as negative symptoms lead to a marked difference in quality of life, length of life and suicide risk compared to healthy population, thereforeit is important to properly diagnose, assess and treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Aim. To review scientific literature on negative symptoms of schizophrenia, including indicators, hypothesised pathophysiology and treatment options. Methods. A literature review was conducted on the PubMed database, using the keywords: „schizophrenia“, „negative symptoms“, „medication treatment“, „quality of life“, „dopamine“, „patophysiology“. Articles published in the last 10 years in English were selected for the analysis. Results. Schizophrenia negative symptoms often have a greater impact on the patient's quality of life than the positive symptoms and are associated with traditional treatment of the latter. Neuroplasticity of the brain determines the progression of untreated negative symptoms, highligthing the importance of recognising and treating them early, and taking into account the patient's dynamic of negative symptoms when prescribing traditional antipsychotic treatment. Conclusions. Negative symptom scores in schizophrenia patients are one of the most important measures of treatment effectiveness. As pharmacotherapy prioritises the treatment of positive symptoms with traditional antipsychotics, it is important to adjust the treatment when a worsening dynamic of negative symptoms is observed. |
