Abstract
Childhood-onset schizophrenia has been clinically treated and studied presuming that it is on a continuum with adult-onset schizophrenia, and the two forms are almost the same pathological condition. On the other hand, concerning mood disorders in childhood, the presence of depression has been recognized from a relatively early period, but no consensus has yet been reached on bipolar disorder, even its concept. Therefore, we reviewed the literature regarding childhood-onset schizophrenia and mood disorders, particularly bipolar disorder, and also evaluated cautionary items in the differential diagnosis and the characteristics of the development course. Although adaptation/function before disease onset, experience of loss of parents, and brain imaging studies characteristic of each disorder were observed, there have been few studies that directly compared the two disorders. Concerning the developmental course such as the growth history, it may be necessary not only to evaluate clinical symptoms crosssectionally, but also to use a longitudinal approach, as has been observed in recent studies on schizophrenia. In the future, the clinical characteristics of bipolar disorder, particularly in Japan, should be evaluated with the addition of detailed descriptions of cases to clarify the developmental process of bipolar disorder and the course until its onset.
