I would describe it as discrete, secondary damage from swelling is possible, but after blood flow is restored to the brain I don't believe there is additional damage if swelling (and possibly necrotic tissue?) is dealt with. Essentially what I mean is that a stroke eventually stops causing neurodegeneration, whereas diseases like Alzheimers contiue to cause progressive neurodegeneration. I don't think that schizophrenia is an ambiguous term for a very misunderstood condition. I think that there are several types of schizophrenia certainly, and perhaps they have differing root causes, and it certainly has vastly different outcomes in different people, but I think the clusters of symptoms and possible outcomes associated with schizophrenia are at least significantly understood, although by no means is it a fully understood disorder. As far as schizophrenia causing neurodegeneration or vice versa, I have no idea. I don't think that is an appropriate use of the word progressive. I have always thought that a progressive disorder is one that becomes increasingly worse as time passes. By your definition a heart attack is a progressive disorder, because after cardiodegeneration occurs behavioral changes occur. I would not consider a heart attack to be a progressive disorder but rather an acute disorder that can indeed progress to death. I think by your definition everything must be considered a progressive disorder if it doesn't take place in a planck unit of time. Originally I posted a link to a study claiming that the lessening of brain tissue associated with schizophrenia is caused by secondary causes and is merely correlative with schizophrenia. You countered this by saying that after an initial episode and prior to the administration of antipsychotic drugs, there is detectable lessening of brain tissue volume. I then took the position that perhaps the onset of schizophrenia is associated with a decrease in brain tissue, but that subsequent decreases in brain tissue are caused by secondary causes such as the administration of antipscyhotics , as the research I linked to claimed. If schizophrenia causes acute neurodegeneration, but not chronic neurodegeneration over time, then it is not a progressive disease as far as my understanding of progressive diseases go.