Neurological soft signs in first episode psychotic disorder - A case control study

Introduction: Neurological signs, are traditionally classified into “Hard” and “Soft” signs. Soft signs are defined as minor, nonlocalizable, objective abnormalities that are thought to reflect damage in connections between subcortical and cortical areas or between cortical areas. In contrast, hard neurological signs can be linked to specific areas of neuroanatomical damage. Aim: Aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of Neurological soft signs in patients with the first-episode psychotic disorder in comparison with control group. Materials and methods: 30 patients with a diagnosis of first episode psychotic disorder and same age and sex matched 30 healthy individuals as the control group was selected for the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Neurological soft signs (NSS) were assessed by the original version of Neurological evaluation scale (NES). Results were entered in a self-structured proforma. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by using ICD-10 criteria. Results were statistically analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference in age, sex and years of education between two groups. On the presence of 2 signs, patient group had 96.7% of prevalence but control group had 56.7% of prevalence which was statistically significant. Conclusion: This study is in conformation with other studies in reporting significantly higher NSS in first-episode psychotic patients than in controls, and adds substance to the claim that NSS could be a biological marker for schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.