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IntroductionIt is well estabhished that the frequency of all types of personality disorders are increased in schizophrenia. Stable personality traits influence the progress of the illness. The aim of this study was to investigate comorbid personality disorders and their relations with positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia patients.Materials and methodsData belonging to 27 female and 23 male schizophrenic patients (n=50) followed-up in our outpatient clinic constituted our series. Any patients having a history of mental retardation, head injury, prior neurological illness, alchohol or substance abuse were excluded. All patients were in a clinically stable phase of illness, and having no changes in medication for at least three months. Having obtained informed consent, patients were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) as well as the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS), Hamilton Axiety Scale (HAM-A), Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM III-R Axis II Personality Disorders.ResultsThirty-six schizophrenia patients had at least one kind of comorbid personality disorder (72%) while 14 (28%) had not. Comparing the patients having personality disorders to the rest of our patient population, we have found no statistically significant differences in age groups, clinical variables and functioning.DiscussionWe have shown that approximately three fourths of our series accompanied by at least one type of personality disorders, a finding consolidating and concordant with some of the previous works.

Approximately 1.7% of all epileptic seizures are induced by drugs, mostly psychotropics. Although the risk is known to be the lowest, a few reports notified quetiapine-induced epileptic convulsions. We report two additional cases.Case 1Twenty-five-year old man suffering from paranoid psychosis was given quetiapine for persisting symptoms. He also had myoclonic disorder which has become worse just after administering quetiapine. Physical, neurological and laboratory findings were normal. He once had a generalized seizure in our clinic. The electroencephalography (EEG) revealed an epileptic focus on frontal region. He has been diagnosed as frontal lobe epilepsy exacerbated by quetiapine. He has recovered and was doing well after withdrawn the drug.Case 2Twenty-three-year old women who had bipolar disorder was hospitalized due to a manic episode. Physical examination and routine laboratory tests were normal. Lithium at 600mg/d and quetiapine at 300 mg/d were started. Quetiapine has been gradually increased up to 900 mg/d at which the myoclonic symptoms first noted. They were disappeared after quetiapin was tapered to 600 mg/d. To control manic symptoms, quetiapine dosage had to be increased up to 700 mg/d again, but myoclonus was reappeared. Quetiapin was replaced with risperidon and manic symptoms subsided. No myoclonic seizures were noted during follow-up.ConclusionEEG abnormalities particularly likely with clozapine and olanzapine, moderate with risperidone, and the lowest with quetiapine. The risk of quetiapine-induced epilepsy was estimated as 0.75%. Evaluating of patients for the epileptic background is important in selecting proper antipsychotic medication.