Definition

Noun: A rare, chronic psychotic disorder, considered a subtype of schizophrenia, characterized primarily by persistent delusions (often of persecution, grandeur, jealousy, or erotomania) without the prominent disorganization of thought or severe deterioration of personality and daily functioning typical of other schizophrenia forms. Hallucinations may be present but are not the dominant feature. Individuals often remain relatively intact in their affect, behavior, and social presentation.

Usage

This is a specialized clinical term used in psychiatry. It describes a specific diagnostic category. * The psychiatrist noted the patient's well-systematized delusions of being a secret royalty, consistent with a diagnosis of paraphrenia. * Paraphrenia is distinguished from paranoid schizophrenia by the relative preservation of the patient's personality and cognitive functions.

Advanced Usage

• The term is sometimes used interchangeably with late paraphrenia, which specifies the onset of the disorder in later life (often after age 60).
• In some historical and clinical contexts, paraphrenia is conceptualized as occupying a middle ground between paranoid schizophrenia and delusional disorder.

Variants and Related Words

• Paraphrenic (adjective): Relating to or suffering from paraphrenia.
  • The patient exhibited paraphrenic symptoms, including elaborate delusional beliefs.
• Late Paraphrenia (noun phrase): A form of paraphrenia with onset in old age.

Synonyms

• Paranoid schizophrenia (in some classification systems; though paraphrenia is often considered a distinct, less severe variant)
• Delusional disorder (a related but distinct diagnosis, often with more circumscribed delusions)

Different Meanings

This term has a single, specific meaning within clinical psychiatry and does not have common alternative definitions in general English.

Noun

1. a form of schizophrenia characterized by delusions (of persecution or grandeur or jealousy); symptoms may include anger and anxiety and aloofness and doubts about gender identity; unlike other types of schizophrenia the patients are usually presentable and (if delusions are not acted on) may function in an apparently normal manner