Cognitive decline in community-dwelling schizophrenia patients is comparable to that of unaffected persons until the age of 65 to 70 years. An increased cognitive loss in elderly persons with schizophrenia cannot be ruled out after the age of 70. The rate of this loss is similar in the two groups and does not appear to be affected by medication status. Decline is most prominent in areas related to memory, learning, reasoning, and judgment. The typical onset of schizophrenia is early adulthood (age 20 to 30), but the disorder can also appear later in life. In general, the older you are when you are diagnosed with schizophrenia, the more severe your symptoms are likely to be. However many people over 50 who have the disease say that their symptoms are not as bad as those who develop it earlier in life. Even if you are not experiencing symptoms now, that doesn't mean that you won't develop them later in life. Schizophrenia is a chronic condition that requires treatment throughout each person's life. There are several types of medications available today that can help reduce the severity of symptoms and prevent further damage to the brain. Even though these drugs may not seem like much help at first, they can make a big difference over time.