I'm looking for pages discussing the medical aspects/symptoms of schizophrenia, but not the more commonly-known paranoia, but rather the incomprehensible speech and ways of thinking, abnormal thought patterns, and such.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated; it's pretty much just an interesting subject for me.

Just Search in Google,you Find there more.

is it possible to suffer only the "positive" symptoms of schizophrenia?
or would that be a different illness? or only a mild case?

There are no positive symptoms of schizophrenia. You may be thinking of bipolar affective disorder which is characterized by bouts of depression mixed with intervals of mania.

It is unlikely that the two conditions would cause the same symptoms. They may overlap if the voices are telling you not to eat or to throw up your food but this is not usually the case.

The symptoms of schizophrenia consist of:
* Delusions.
* Hallucinations.
* Thought disorder.
* Disorganized behavior.
Eating disorders in patients with schizophrenia have been underappreciated and poorly studied.

Schizophrenia currently affects more than 2 million people in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health website. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Community Mental Health Center of Lancaster County hope to improve early care for people diagnosed with schizophrenia by participating in a treatment study designed by NIMH.

The center will be just one of 35 locations nationwide to host NIMH’s Recovery after an Initial Schizophrenia Episode Early Treatment Project (RAISE ETP).

Mary Sullivan, director of RAISE ETP in Lincoln, stressed the importance of early treatment.

“Many people, when they start experiencing the symptoms (of schizophrenia), don’t go for treatment or help for over a year,” she said.

Doctors categorize symptoms into positive, negative and cognitive, according to NIMH. They include hallucinations, movement disorders, thought disorders, little interaction, problems focusing or paying attention and working memory problems.

Schizophrenia often shows up between the ages of 19 and 21.

“The role of UNL and the center is to be a community-based site for the study,” said Travis Parker, deputy director of the Community Mental Health Center of Lancaster County.

“We’re hoping what the outcomes of this study will demonstrate is that for people with schizophrenia, receiving treatment in a timely manner will decrease negative outcomes and improve the quality of life for the individual,” he said.

The center was created about 40 years ago. Parker estimated it helps about 6,000 people a year, 10 percent of whom deal with a disorder related to schizophrenia.

“It’s often a troubling and confusing time in that person’s life,” he said. “It can take a long time before that person or a person in their life decides they need help.”

Sullivan noted that Lincoln was considered for the project due to UNL’s psychology department and a well-respected lab for serious mental illnesses. The university formed the serious Mental Illness Research Group in the 1980s, currently led by Will Spaulding, a professor of psychology.

“Lincoln was chosen as a site for RAISE ETP based, in part, on the fine working relationship between the psychology department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Community Mental Health Center of Lancaster County,” Sullivan said.

Participants of the study volunteer to be assessed and receive individual treatment based on their strengths and specific problem areas.

The goal of the project is to get people the help they need as soon as possible and decrease the stigma associated with having a mental disorder, according to Sullivan.

“The RAISE Project will help people build on their strengths and the special assessments will help us focus on specific problem areas,” she said.

I know there are "positive" and "negative" symptoms of schizophrenia as well as cognitive issues, but can a patient with schizophrenia have only the negative symptoms? If so, can there also be a patient with only positive symptoms?

Not likely….. the negative symptoms of Schizophrenia are just like the symptoms of Depression…. iof you have only negative symptoms you most likely have depression. The positive symptoms also can occur in different disorders like Bipolar….. if they have only positive symptoms they will nto diagnose Schizophrenia but try to decide which disorder is causing the psychosis as noted below it has to be determined that psychosis is not due to Bipolar……

Here is the DMS criteria for diagnosing Schizophrenia:

Characteristic symptoms: Two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period (or less if successfully treated):

delusions
hallucinations
disorganized speech (e.g., frequent derailment or incoherence)
grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
negative symptoms, i.e., affective flattening, alogia, or avolition

Note: only one Criterion a symptom is required if delusions are bizarre or hallucinations consist of a voice keeping up a running commentary on the person’s behavior or thoughts, or two or more voices conversing with each other.

Social/occupational dysfunction: For a significant portion of the time since the onset of the disturbance, one or more major areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations, or self-care are markedly below the level achieved prior to the onset (or when the onset is in childhood or adolescence, failure to achieve expected level of interpersonal, academic, or occupational achievement).

Duration: Continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least 6 months. this 6-month period must include at least 1 month of symptoms (or less if successfully treated) that meet Criterion a (i.e., active-phase symptoms) and may include periods of prodromal or residual symptoms. During these prodromal or residual periods, the signs of the disturbance may be manifested by only negative symptoms or two or more symptoms listed in Criterion a present in an attenuated form (e.g., odd beliefs, unusual perceptual experiences).

Schizoaffective and mood disorder exclusion: Schizoaffective disorder and mood disorder with psychotic features have been ruled out because either (1) no major depressive, manic, or mixed episodes have occurred concurrently with the active-phase symptoms; or (2) if mood episodes have occurred during active-phase symptoms, their total duration has been brief relative to the duration of the active and residual periods.

Substance/general medical condition exclusion: The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or a general medical condition.

Relationship to a pervasive developmental disorder: If there is a history of autistic disorder or another pervasive developmental disorder, the additional diagnosis of schizophrenia is made only if prominent delusions or hallucinations are also present for at least a month (or less if successfully treated).

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ALL of these criteria have to be met for a diagnosis fo Schizophrenia…. typically negative symptoms are there all the time and positive symptoms come and go….

No symptom of schizophrenia is positive. If your mind is detached from reality, you're going to have a hard time in this world unless you get treatment.

Most people with schizophrenia have psychosis which means they lose contact with reality, if you have simple schizophrenia then you have mainly negative symptoms.

What age do the symptoms of schizophrenia usually appear? what are the chances of someone being schizophrenic if they have no known family history of it? And any other important information about schizophrenia that you have please.

it can actually be a number of things you feel paranoid you might hear vocies and see things that are not there your mood swings change