Late paraphrenia or the paraphrenias? A descriptive study with a 10-year follow-up.

This study describes 47 cases of paranoid psychosis occurring for the first time after the age of 60. Cases were drawn from the Camberwell catchment area and were followed up for 10 years or until death. The clinical picture of patients showed few differences from those described in earlier studies. Subgroups are described with contrasting clinical features and differing outcome. The findings suggest that late paraphrenia is a heterogenous syndrome giving the appearance of a spectrum of overlapping conditions with paranoid delusions.