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Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are common in the general population. Child and adolescent PLEs are the most prevalent and linked with future psychotic disorders. Significant heterogeneity in PLE assessment has obscured its clinical utility to identify psychosis-prone trajectories and improve clinical outcomes. This meta-analysis aimed to assess i) PLE prevalence in children and adolescents and ii) their relationship with subsequent psychotic disorder while exploring sources of heterogeneity. PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases were searched in August 2023 for population-based longitudinal studies that assessed child or adolescent PLEs and early adulthood psychotic outcomes. Six studies were included (n = 16,560), showing a pooled PLE prevalence of 17.3 %. Child and adolescent PLEs were associated with an increased risk of psychotic disorder in early adulthood (unadjusted OR = 3.80, 95 % CI: 2.31-6.26), with a population attributable fraction of 32.6 %. Significant heterogeneity in the strength of this relationship (I 2 = 70 %, p = .01) was related to assessment type (self-report vs. interview). This review contends that interview-based PLE assessments could more accurately identify children or adolescents on a path towards psychosis and are better suited for psychotic risk identification. Further research is needed to elucidate interactions between PLEs and other psychotic risk factors., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

• Ketogenic diet therapy resulted in metabolic syndrome reversal in this cohort of serious mental illness. • Participants with schizophrenia showed an average of 32 % improvement according to the brief psychiatric rating scale. • The percentage of participants with bipolar who showed >1 point improvement in clinical global impression was 69 %. • Greater biomarker benefits observed with ketogenic dietary adherence. • Pilot trial suggests dual metabolic–psychiatric benefits from ketogenic therapy. The ketogenic diet (KD, also known as metabolic therapy) has been successful in the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and epilepsy. More recently, this treatment has shown promise in the treatment of psychiatric illness. We conducted a 4–month pilot study to investigate the effects of a KD on individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder with existing metabolic abnormalities. Twenty–three participants were enrolled in a single–arm trial. Results showcased improvements in metabolic health, with no participants meeting metabolic syndrome criteria by study conclusion. Adherent individuals experienced significant reduction in weight (12 %), BMI (12 %), waist circumference (13 %), and visceral adipose tissue (36 %). Observed biomarker enhancements in this population include a 27 % decrease in HOMA–IR, and a 25 % drop in triglyceride levels. In psychiatric measurements, participants with schizophrenia showed a 32 % reduction in Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores. Overall Clinical Global Impression (CGI) severity improved by an average of 31 %, and the proportion of participants that started with elevated symptomatology improved at least 1–point on CGI (79 %). Psychiatric outcomes across the cohort encompassed increased life satisfaction (17 %) and enhanced sleep quality (19 %). This pilot trial underscores the potential advantages of adjunctive ketogenic dietary treatment in individuals grappling with serious mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Machine-learning algorithms estimated importance of multilevel data for diagnostic classification. • Symptoms were most influential for differentiating psychiatric cases from healthy controls. • Function was most important for separating the schizophrenias from affective disorder cases. • Function and paternal age were equally important for separating schizophrenia from all other cases. • Misclassified controls had mild symptoms, lower cognition, and/or younger mothers/older fathers. This study used machine-learning algorithms to make unbiased estimates of the relative importance of various multilevel data for classifying cases with schizophrenia (n = 60), schizoaffective disorder (n = 19), bipolar disorder (n = 20), unipolar depression (n = 14), and healthy controls (n = 51) into psychiatric diagnostic categories. The Random Forest machine learning algorithm, which showed best efficacy (92.9% SD: 0.06), was used to generate variable importance ranking of positive, negative, and general psychopathology symptoms, cognitive indexes, global assessment of function (GAF), and parental ages at birth for sorting participants into diagnostic categories. Symptoms were ranked most influential for separating cases from healthy controls, followed by cognition and maternal age. To separate schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder from bipolar/unipolar depression, GAF was most influential, followed by cognition and paternal age. For classifying schizophrenia from all other psychiatric disorders, low GAF and paternal age were similarly important, followed by cognition, psychopathology and maternal age. Controls misclassified as schizophrenia cases showed lower nonverbal abilities, mild negative and general psychopathology symptoms, and younger maternal or older paternal age. The importance of symptoms for classification of cases and lower GAF for diagnosing schizophrenia, notably more important and distinct from cognition and symptoms, concurs with current practices. The high importance of parental ages is noteworthy and merits further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Maternal schizophrenia is a strong risk factor for placement of children in out-of-home care. • Single motherhood and maternal smoking increased the risk of out-of-home placement of the offspring. • Adverse perinatal health outcomes did not increase the risk of out-of-home placement. Abstract Schizophrenia may affect a mother's ability to parent. We investigated out-of-home placements among children with a biological mother having schizophrenia, and their relation to maternal characteristics and adverse perinatal health outcomes of the offspring. For each Finnish woman born between 1 JAN 1965 – 31 DEC 1980 and diagnosed with schizophrenia before 31 DEC 2013 (n = 5214), five matched controls were randomly selected from the Finnish Central Population Register. Children born to these women were identified and followed till 31 DEC 2013. The Child Welfare Register, the Medical Birth Register and the Register of Congenital Malformations were used to gather information. Altogether 35.1% of children with an affected mother and 3.2% of control children were placed out of home during the follow-up. The incidence rate ratio (IRR) of out-of-home placement among children with an affected mother was 12.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) 10.80–13.46) when children with a non-affected mother served as a reference. Single motherhood (IRR 2.2, 95% Cl 1.88–2.60) and maternal smoking (IRR 1.9, 95% Cl 1.68–2.16), but not an adverse perinatal outcome of the offspring, increased the risk of out-of-home placement. To conclude, maternal schizophrenia is a strong risk factor for placement of children in out-of-home care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • T. gondii was associated with increased risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. • We analyzed circulating T. gondii DNA in a cohort of Italian psychiatric inpatients. • Seropositive status for IgG anti- T. gondii was found in 28,6% of patients. • PCR, nested-PCR and real-time PCR revealed no positive samples for T. gondii. • No significant association between the seropositive status and a diagnostic category. Abstract Toxoplasmosis has been previously associated with an increased risk of having Schizophrenia or Bipolar disorder in several epidemiological studies. The aim of this observational, cross-sectional study was to examine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma infection in a cohort of Italian psychiatric inpatients and to verify the presence of circulating Toxoplasma gondii DNA in the seropositive subjects. Sixty-three patients affected by bipolar or schizoaffective disorders according to DSM-5 criteria were enrolled. The presence of Toxoplasma infection was firstly examined using an indirect serological method (ELFA), and three different direct PCR-based methods were performed to detect circulating DNA in the seropositive patients. The seroprevalence of infection was 28.6%, with a significant association between higher age and the infection status. PCR, nested-PCR and Real-Time PCR revealed no positive samples for Toxoplasma gondii. This result is in contrast with recent data from case-control studies that detected parasite genome in patients with different neuropsychiatric diagnosis without clinical evidence of acute toxoplasmosis. Our findings are to be interpreted with caution, because of the small sample size, the heterogeneity of enrolled patients and the observational nature of the study. Further studies are needed to better define the clinical features correlated to the seropositive status in neuropsychiatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Inpatients with severe mental disorder are quite heterogenic regarding their perception of health services. • Personality factors are more important than clinical symptomatology to a satisfaction level. • Satisfaction with hospital health care is associated with five indicators: insight, satisfaction with physical health, self-efficacy, family support, and social anhedonia. • Improving knowledge of the determinants of inpatient satisfaction is a way to improve their care experience and to achieve better outcomes. Abstract Background Patients' perception of psychiatric healthcare is a critical indicator in measuring service quality. The aim of the study was to determine patient's level of satisfaction with the quality of health care delivered at the inpatient departments, and to identify the service quality factors that were important to patients. Method The Satisfaction with Psychiatry Care Questionnaire-22 was administered to 125 consecutive inpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in a stable condition. Sociodemographic and background variables, illness and symptom severity, insight, social anhedonia, self-esteem, perceived social support, and satisfaction with quality of life were collected. Results Although the participants generally expressed satisfaction with the inpatient services, they indicated that the weakest aspects of the service were in the domains of 'personal experience', 'information' and 'activity'. Women were significantly more dissatisfied than men with 'staff', 'care', and by general satisfaction. Multiple regression analysis revealed that satisfaction with hospital health care was associated with five indicators: insight, satisfaction with physical health, self-efficacy, family support, and social anhedonia. Conclusion Personality related factors rather than psychopathological symptoms were associated with a satisfaction with care of admitted patients with severe mental illness. These factors could be targets for interventions aimed to improve treatment and hospital services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We assessed olanzapine long-acting injections efficacy in severe schizophrenia. • Of the 40 patients included, 32.5% had previously been treated by clozapine. • Olanzapine long-acting injections significantly reduced average bed days and hospital admissions. • Olanzapine LAI was not associated with a greater risk of adverse events except for PSDS. Abstract Olanzapine long-acting injections (OLAIs) are often prescribed to patients with severe schizophrenia who are typically excluded from randomized clinical trials. To date, no mirror-image study has examined the impact of OLAIs on healthcare resource utilizations in these patients. We conducted a retrospective, one-year mirror-image study of OLAIs on 40 patients with severe schizophrenic disorder. Illness severity was defined by failure to respond to two sequential antipsychotics. Outcomes included: (i) healthcare resource utilizations via hospitalization admissions, bed days, outpatient visits, and inpatient service costs computations (ii) clinical efficacy through changes in the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and in the Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia Scale (CGI-SCH), and (iii) adverse effects. After one year, OLAIs were associated with significant decreases of 65.7%, 86.2% and 86.2% in hospitalization admissions, bed days, and inpatient service costs respectively. A significant mean change of −0.47 and −0.63 was determined the BPRS and the CGI-SCH scores, respectively. There were no significant differences in the number of outpatient visits and adverse effects, except for post-injection sedation/delirium syndrome whose incidence was 0.30% per injection. This mirror-image study provides the first evidence that prescribing OLAIs reduces in a cost-effective manner average bed days and hospital admissions in patients with severe schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The subjective experience of compulsorily admitted psychotic patients is of particular concern. • The application of ``needs – care satisfaction - quality of life – social support'' model of patient reported outcomes is an important topic for research upon compulsorily admitted psychotic patients. • Assessment of unmet needs, satisfaction with care, quality of life, hedonic capacity, and social support constitute the factors that differentiate compulsory admitted patients and could be targets for interventions aimed to reduce the negative effects of compulsory admissions. Abstract This cross-sectional study compared the levels of needs, care satisfaction, quality of life, and social support of compulsory admitted patients with severe mental disorders to a comparable group of voluntary admitted patients. One hundred and twenty-five patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder were admitted to a hospital by district psychiatrist order (DPO), court observation order (COO), or voluntary (VA). Participants were assessed before discharge using questionnaires, and psychiatric rating scales. A linear discriminant analysis revealed eight variables that best differentiated the three groups. COO patients were significantly discriminated from the two other groups (DPO and VA) by severe negative symptoms, better satisfaction with both nursing staff and family support. COO subjects had more non-illness unmet needs, while reported better hedonic capacity for social and interpersonal pleasure – compared to VA patients. DPO patients were significantly indicated by poorer awareness to illness, but better satisfaction with subjective feelings. VA subjects were significantly discriminated from compulsory admitted patients by higher illness severity scores. Assessment of unmet needs, satisfaction with care, quality of life, hedonic capacity, and social support constitute the factors that differentiate compulsory admitted patients and could be targets for interventions aimed to reduce the negative effects of compulsory admissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to determine whether the cognition profiles of patients with schizoaffective disorder (SAD), schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder (BD) are distinguishable. A total of 227 participants, comprising 88 healthy control subjects, 50 patients with SAD, 48 patients with schizophrenia and 41 patients with BD, were recruited. The participants’ cognitive functions were evaluated using the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). A discriminant functions analysis (DFA) was conducted to determine whether using cognitive performance can be used to distinguish these participant groups. Relative to healthy control subjects, patients with SAD, schizophrenia and BD exhibited significant deficits in all cognitive domains (verbal memory, working memory, motor speed, verbal fluency, attention and processing speed, executive function and a composite BACS score). Among the three patient groups, the schizophrenia group exhibited particularly impaired motor speed, and the BD group performed best in attention, processing speed, executive function and the composite BACS score. The classification accuracy rates of patients with SAD, schizophrenia and BD in the DFA model were 38%, 47.9% and 46.3%, respectively. These findings suggest that the impairments of some cognitive domains were less severe in patients with BD than in patients with schizophrenia or SAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired visual integration is well documented in schizophrenia and related to functional outcomes. However, it is unclear if this deficit is specific to schizophrenia, or characteristic of psychosis more broadly. To address this question, this study used a Bayesian model comparison approach to examine the evidence of three grouping models of visual integration performance in 116 individuals with schizophrenia (SZ), schizoaffective disorder (SA), bipolar disorder (BD) with or without a history of prominent psychosis (BDP+ and BDP-, respectively), or no psychiatric diagnosis (healthy controls; HC). We compared: (1) Psychosis Model (psychosis, non-psychosis), where the psychosis group included SZ, SA, and BDP+, and the non-psychosis group included BDP- and HC; (2) Schizophrenia Model (SZ, non-SZ); and (3) DSM Model (SZ, SA, BD, HC). The relationship between visual integration and general cognition was also explored. The Psychosis Model showed the strongest evidence, and visual integration was associated with general cognition in participants with psychosis. The results were consistent with the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework, indicating that visual integration impairment is characteristic of psychosis and not specific to SZ or DSM categories, and may share similar disease pathways with observed neurocognitive deficits in psychotic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH 4 ) is an essential cofactor for dopamine, serotonin and nitric oxide synthesis. Deficits of plasma total biopterin (a measure of BH 4 ) have been described in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. GCH1 encodes the first and rate-limiting enzyme in BH 4 synthesis. Peripheral GCH1 expression is lower in first episode psychosis patients versus controls, and we hypothesized that a GCH1 promoter polymorphism associated with psychiatric illness, contributes to regulation of both GCH1 expression and BH 4 levels. We tested this hypothesis in 120 subjects (85 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 35 controls): Patients with the rs10137071 A allele had significantly lower plasma biopterin than GG patients and controls. In additional samples we assessed the relationship between genotype and diagnosis (schizophrenia or control) on GCH1 expression in the prefrontal cortex ( n = 67 ) and peripheral leukocytes ( n = 53 ). We found a significant linear relationship between GCH1 and study group in the CNS and periphery, with A allele patients having lower expression. Finally, in antipsychotic naïve patients ( n = 13 ) we tested for an effect of medication on GCH1 : Expression rose significantly after the onset of medication, primarily in A allele patients. These data suggest the potential for personalized genetic approaches to ameliorating BH 4 deficits in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired insight into illness, a core feature of schizophrenia with negative clinical implications, is a multidimensional phenomenon existing on a continuum. However, the degree to which illness perception in distinct cultures influences the appraisal of insight into illness in schizophrenia remains unclear. As such, we aimed to determine if the psychometric properties of the VAGUS insight into psychosis scale ( www.vagusonline.com ), which was originally assessed in English speaking Canadians, were similar in a sample of Latino Mexican Spanish speaking patients with schizophrenia. To accomplish this, the VAGUS – Self-Report (SR) version was translated from English to Spanish and psychometrically evaluated in 95 participants. The Spanish version of the VAGUS-SR was internally consistent (ᾳ = 0.713), and demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with the subscales of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Factor analysis identified two components of insight, congruent with two of the components of the English version of the VAGUS-SR. In conclusion, the VAGUS-SR is a brief, novel, and valid measure of insight into illness in schizophrenia, which demonstrated similar psychometric properties in two culturally and linguistically distinct samples with schizophrenia. Future studies should assess whether the VAGUS demonstrates similar psychometric properties in non-Western cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Treatment of Early-Onset Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (TEOSS) compared the efficacy of risperidone, olanzapine, and molindone over 8 weeks in 119 youths age 8–19 years with early-onset schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. From this large dataset, we examined predictors of treatment response and drop out using stepwise regression and receiver operating characteristics curve (ROC) analysis. Treatment response was defined as having both a ≥ 20% improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score and a Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) score < 3. More severe baseline symptoms, having a history of being in an early education program, and previous prescription of a mood stabilizer increased the likelihood of responding to treatment. Anhedonia and poor community functioning predicted a reduction in symptom severity on the PANSS. Random assignment to different antipsychotic treatment was not predictive of outcome. Parental report of aggressive behaviors at baseline and being African American were associated with a greater likelihood of drop out. Our results suggest youth with more severe psychotic symptoms are most likely to benefit from treatment with antipsychotics and that aggressive youth may require additional support to improve treatment adherence. Further investigation is needed to understand potentially modifiable predictors of response like early education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims of the current study were to explore differences in coping between 58 patients with schizoaffective disorder (SAD) and 89 with schizophrenia (SZ) and to identify factors associated with coping in both disorders. The demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with SAD and with SZ were compared using ANOVA and χ 2 . Pearson's correlations were calculated between coping styles and socio-demographic and clinical variables in each group. The significant ones were subsequently analyzed using multiple regressions. Patients with SAD used emotion oriented coping more frequently than patients 2016with SZ. In patients with SAD, self-esteem contributed to task-oriented; avolition-anhedonia (AA) to emotion-oriented; duration of illness and years of education to distraction; AA to social diversion. In patients with SZ, AA, the mental component summary score of the Short Form - 36 Health Survey (SF-36) and self-esteem contributed to emotion oriented coping; the mental component summary score of SF-36 to distraction; AA to social diversion. Our results suggest that patients with SAD and SZ use diverse coping strategies. A greater attention must be given to the presence of self-esteem and AA in individuals with both disorders. These factors are potentially modifiable from specific therapeutic interventions, which can produce effects on coping strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Global clinical insight in psychosis dit not participate in subjective recovery. • Only unawareness of current symptoms showed a significant positive role in recovery. • This lack of insight into symptoms refers to patients' appraisals of their illness. • Patients' narrative insight emerges as a recovery-oriented tool in clinical practice. • Clinicians have to work with poor insight to support a consensual recovery. Good clinical insight is predictive of clinical recovery in schizophrenia (i.e. symptomatic remission and functional improvement). However, the recent subjective recovery paradigm (i.e. the self-identity reconstruction process with and beyond psychosis) questioned the relevance of seeking patients' awareness of their medically-defined illness. This study aimed to assess the relationship between clinical insight and subjective recovery in individuals with psychotic disorders. Sixty-seven outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were assessed for clinical insight using the Scale to assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD) and for self-rated subjective recovery using the Recovery Assessment Scale (RAS). Among all dimensions of insight, only the unawareness of current symptoms was significantly associated with RAS total score, with illness duration as the only moderating factor. On the final regression model, unawareness of current symptoms was confirmed as the strongest of six factors explaining all together 44% of the subjective recovery variance, whereas clinical insight taken as an independent multidimensional construct did not significantly participate in explaining subjective recovery. Our study highlights the weak and only partial implication of clinical insight in subjective recovery, and invites clinicians to consider the patients' meaning making process of morbid experiences in order to build a self-directed and medically-supported recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysfunctional mirror neuron systems have been proposed to contribute to the social cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia. A few studies have explored mirror systems in schizophrenia using various techniques such as TMS (levels of motor resonance) or EEG (levels of mu suppression), with mixed results. This study aimed to use a novel multimodal approach (i.e. concurrent TMS and EEG) to further investigate mirror systems and social cognition in schizophrenia. Nineteen individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 19 healthy controls participated. Single-pulse TMS was applied to M1 during the observation of hand movements designed to elicit mirror system activity. Single EEG electrodes (C3, CZ, C4) recorded brain activity. Participants also completed facial affect recognition and theory of mind tasks. The schizophrenia group showed significant deficits in facial affect recognition and higher level theory of mind compared to healthy controls. A significant positive relationship was revealed between mu suppression and motor resonance for the overall sample, indicating concurrent validity of these measures. Levels of mu suppression and motor resonance were not significantly different between groups. These findings indicate that in stable outpatients with schizophrenia, mirror system functioning is intact, and therefore their social cognitive difficulties may be caused by alternative pathophysiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to develop self-report and clinician-rated versions of an insight scale that would be easy to administer, sensitive to small changes, and inclusive of the core dimensions of clinical insight into psychosis. Ten-item self-report (VAGUS-SR) and five-item clinician-rated (VAGUS-CR) scales were designed to measure the dimensions of insight into psychosis and evaluated in 215 and 140 participants, respectively (www.vagusonline.com). Tests of reliability and validity were performed. Both the VAGUS-SR and VAGUS-CR showed good internal consistency and reliability. They demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity. Both versions were strongly correlated with one another and with the Schedule for the Assessment of Insight and Birchwood Insight Scale. Exploratory factor analyses identified three possible latent components of insight. The VAGUS-CR and VAGUS-SR are valid, reliable and easy to administer. They are build on previous insight scales with separate clinician-rated and self-report versions. The VAGUS-SR exhibited a multidimensional factor structure. Using a 10-point Likert scale for each item, the VAGUS has the capacity to detect small, temporally sensitive changes in insight, which is essential for intervention studies with neurostimulation or rapidly acting medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Deficits in emotion perception and overconfidence in errors are well-documented in schizophrenia but have not been examined concurrently. The present study aimed to fill this gap. Twenty-three schizophrenia patients and twenty-nine healthy subjects underwent a Continuous Facial Sequence Task (CFST). The CFST comprised two blocks: a female (1st block) and a male protagonist (2nd block) displayed the six basic emotions postulated by Ekman as well as two more complex mental states and a neutral expression. Participants were first asked to identify the affect displayed by the performer and then to judge their response confidence. No group differences emerged regarding overall emotion perception. Follow-up analyses showed that patients were less correct in detecting some negative emotions but performed better for neutral or positive emotions. Regarding confidence, incorrect decisions in patients were associated with higher confidence than in controls (statistical trend level, moderate effect size). Patients displayed significant overconfidence in errors for negative emotions. In addition, patients were more prone to high-confident errors for emotions that were displayed in weak emotional intensity. While the study supports the view that the examination of confidence adds unique information to our understanding of social cognition, several methodological limitations render its findings preliminary. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Patients with comorbid schizophrenia and panic symptoms share a distinct clinical presentation and biological characteristics, prompting some to propose panic psychosis as a separate subtype of schizophrenia. Less is known about these patients'' neuropsychological profiles, knowledge of which may facilitate target-specific treatments and research into the etiopathophysiology for such cases. A total of 255 schizophrenia patients with panic disorder (n =39), non-panic anxiety disorder (n =51), or no anxiety disorder (n =165) were assessed with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Trail Making Test, the Controlled Oral Word Association Test, the Animal Naming subtest of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, and the Wechsler Memory Scale—Revised. Psychotic symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Patients with panic disorder demonstrated a higher verbal IQ and better problem solving, set switching, delayed recall, attention, and verbal fluency as compared to schizophrenia patients without comorbid anxiety. The schizophrenia-panic group reported a higher level of dysthymia on stable medication. Our findings suggest that patients with schizophrenia and comorbid panic disorder exhibit distinct cognitive functioning when compared to other schizophrenia patients. These data offer further support for a definable panic-psychosis subtype and suggest new etiological pathways for future research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dysfunctions in social cognition are implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and have been extensively replicated over the years. For memory research, the administration of cognitive tasks with metacognitive aspects like confidence ratings has deepened our insight into how impairments contribute to symptoms of the disorder. A total of 76 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and a sample of 30 healthy participants were tested with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (Eyes-test). The Eyes-test was complemented with a rating scale requesting response confidence and was administered along with paradigms tapping neuropsychological parameters and cognitive insight. Schizophrenia patients showed impaired abilities on mental state perception. In addition, they committed more high-confidence errors and at the same time made fewer high-confidence correct responses. Impairments were most pronounced in patients with formal thought disorder. The patients displayed a decreased metacognitive awareness for their deficits. The results suggest that adding confidence ratings to the investigation of social cognition promises to advance our understanding of social cognition in schizophrenia. Patients not only show severe impairments in social cognition, but are overconfident in their judgments and lack cognitive insight into their deficits. The results highlight the need for metacognitive therapeutic approaches for the treatment of this population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A pathologic hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 causes frontotemporal dementia (FTD) or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Behavioral abnormalities can also occur among mutation carriers with FTD, but it is uncertain whether such mutations occur among persons with psychoses per se . Among participants in a genetic study of psychoses ( N =739), two pairs of related individuals had C9orf72 expansions, of whom three were diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ) / schizoaffective disorder (SZA), but their clinical features did not suggest dementia or ALS. A few patients with SZ/SZA carry C9orf72 repeat expansions; such individuals are highly likely to develop FTD/ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Knowledge of factors relevant for medication adherence and patient collaboration is still limited. Our study aims at exploring the contribution of a variety of factors to collaboration in outpatients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. We obtained self-rated and observer-rated data from 108 outpatients during an interview 6 months after hospital discharge. The compliance rating scale (CRS) classified 76% of the patients as collaborative. Factors related to the patient, illness, treatment, and social environment were analysed in two-step explorative correlation and regression analyses in order to determine their relative contribution to collaboration. Only trust in medication and lack of insight were associated with collaboration, and they accounted for 38% of the variance. Neither medication side effects nor neuropsychological functioning correlated with collaboration. The conceptualisation of medication adherence is complex, and there are a number of unresolved methodological problems. The data indicate that illness and treatment-related subjective attitudes may be more relevant than side effects, cognitive functioning or any sociodemographic variable. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The present study examined the ability of the International Suicide Prevention Trial (InterSePT) Scale for Suicidal Thinking (ISST) and the Calgary Depression Scale (CDS) to predict suicide attempts or hospitalizations to prevent attempts (referred to as Type 1 events) during the InterSePT trial [Meltzer, H.Y., Alphs, L., Green, A.I., Altamura, A.C., Anand, R., Bertoldi, A., Bourgeois, M., Chouinard, G., Islam, M.Z., Kane, J., Krishman, R., Lindenmayer, J.P., Potkin, S., 2003. Clozapine treatment for suicidality in schizophrenia. Archive of General Psychiatry 60, 82–91]. The primary goal of this analysis was to determine if the ISST and CDS ratings indicated that the raters, an unblinded (UP) and a blinded psychiatrist (BP) using the ISST, and a blinded rater using the CDS, were able to identify those patients who had a Type 1 event. The ratings of patients adjudged to have experienced a Type 1 event (Group 1) were compared with patients who did not (Group 2). The ISST and the CDS ratings obtained 2–8 weeks prior to a Type 1 event (Pre-1) and Pre-2, the rating immediately prior to Pre-1, obtained 2–12 weeks before Pre-1, were analyzed to test the hypothesis that the difference between Pre-2 and Pre-1 ratings for the Group 1 patients was significantly greater than the difference in the comparable ratings for Group 2 patients. The prediction that patients with Type 1 events would show greater worsening in ISST and CDS ratings between Pre-2 and Pre-1 than the Group 2 patients was confirmed. However, the sensitivity and specificity of a worsening in ratings was not sufficient to provide definitive warning of an impending Type 1 event. Other characteristics of the patients with Type 1 events provide additional warning: e.g. overall higher ratings on these scales, slower improvement in suicidality during treatment, and previous number of suicide attempts. These results indicate that the ISST and CDS may provide some additional information that can assist clinical decision making regarding suicidal risk in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The commonly used rating scales for negative symptoms in schizophrenia have shown good reliability, but disagreement persists regarding both the content definition and the validity of several items. Instead, authors have recommended rating the specific behaviors that are defined as negative symptoms. To surmount these shortcomings, we developed a new rating scale for negative symptoms: the Motor-Affective-Social Scale (MASS). During a 5-minute structured interview, hand coverbal gestures, spontaneous smiles, voluntary smiling, and questions asked by the interviewer were counted and rated on 101 inpatients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Information on social behavior was obtained from nursing staff. The scale consisted of a total of eight items. The MASS showed high internal consistency (Cronbach alpha coefficient=0.81), inter-rater reliability, and test–retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient=0.81). Convergent validity analyses showed high correlations between MASS scores and scores on the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptom (SANS), and the negative symptoms subscale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). The MASS showed excellent psychometric properties, practicality, and subject tolerability. Future research that includes the use of the MASS with other patient populations and that investigates the scale''s sensitivity during clinical trials should be performed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Cognitive Checklist for Mania—Revised (CCL-M-R), which measures the severity of maladaptive beliefs and cognitions associated with mania, was administered to 35 inpatients with a major depressive disorder, 20 inpatients with a schizoaffective disorder, and 45 inpatients with a bipolar I disorder to determine whether cognitions associated with mania differentiate patients who have most recently experienced either manic, mixed, or depressive episodes. The CCL-M-R is composed of four subscales assessing (a) exaggerated beliefs about self-worth (Myself), (b) grandiose beliefs about interpersonal relationships (Relationships), (c) erroneous beliefs about needing excitement from engaging in high risk situations (Pleasure/Excitement), and (d) unrealistic beliefs about having high energy levels for undertaking goal-driven activities (Activity). As hypothesized, the mean CCL-M-R total, Myself, Relationships, and Activity scores of the 26 patients with manic episodes were higher than those for either the 17 patients with mixed episodes or the 57 with depressive episodes. The CCL-M-R was discussed as a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the severity of maladaptive cognitions associated with mania in psychiatric patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Schizoaffective disorder (SA D/O), introduced in 1933 by Dr. Jacob Kasanin, represented a first, modest change in our concept about the diagnoses of psychotic patients away from the beliefs of E. Bleuler, i.e., that hallucinations and delusions define schizophrenia, and toward the recognition of a significant role for mood disorders. SA D/O established a connection between schizophrenia and mood disorders, traditionally considered mutually exclusive, a connection that has strengthened progressively toward the diagnostic unity of all three disorders. A basic tenet of medicine holds that if discrepant symptoms can be explained by one disease instead of two or more, it is likely there is only one disease. The scientific justification for SA D/O and schizophrenia as disorders distinct from a psychotic mood disorder has been questioned. The “schizo” prefix in SA D/O rests upon the presumption that the diagnostic symptoms for schizophrenia are disease specific. They are not, since patients with severe mood disorders can evince any or all of the “schizophrenic” symptoms. “Schizophrenic” symptoms mean “psychotic” and not any specific disease. These data and a very low interrater reliability for SA D/O suggest that the concepts of SA D/O and schizophrenia as valid diagnoses are flawed. Clinically SA D/O remains popular because it encompasses both schizophrenia and psychotic mood disorder when there is a diagnostic question. We present a review of the literature in table form based on an assignment of each article assigned to one of five categories that describe the possible relationships between SA D/O, schizophrenia and psychotic mood disorders. We conclude that the data overall are compatible with the hypothesis that a single disease, a mood disorder, with a broad spectrum of severity, rather than three different disorders, accounts for the functional psychoses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Although agreement exists regarding the high occurrence of obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms in schizophrenia, it is less clear how OC symptoms are related to the traditional symptoms of schizophrenia and co-occurring deficits. One possibility is that there may be two distinct groups of persons with schizophrenia who experience OC symptoms: one group with poor and another with relatively good function. In the present study, the relationships between OC symptoms, coping, and hope were examined among 67 persons with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. First, participants with significant levels of OC symptoms were compared with participants without OC symptoms. Then, participants with significant levels of both OC symptoms and negative symptoms were compared with participants with negative symptoms, but no OC symptoms, and to participants with neither OC symptoms nor negative symptoms. Analysis of variance revealed participants with significant levels of OC symptoms were significantly more likely to experience greater levels of hopelessness and endorse a preference for avoidant focused coping strategies relative to participants without significant OC symptoms. Participants with both negative symptoms and OC symptoms also had less hope and greater preferences for ignoring stressors than participants with negative symptoms but no OC symptoms and participants with neither OC symptoms nor negative symptoms. Implications for theory, practice and research are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

It has been suggested that low frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over left temporo-parietal cortex may reduce the frequency and intensity of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia. Sixteen patients with hallucinations, treatment-resistant for at least 2 months, were randomised into a placebo-controlled crossover study of TMS at 1 Hz and 80% of motor threshold over left temporo-parietal cortex. Treatment periods lasted for 4 days, with daily duration escalating from 4 to 8, 12 and 16 min on subsequent days. Each minute of stimulation was followed by 15 s of rest to check coil position and allow the patient to move, if necessary. Both patients and symptom raters were unaware of the treatment condition. Patients’ hallucination scores improved from baseline with both real and sham TMS, and there was no significant difference between real and sham treatments. There was a trend for second treatments, whether sham or real, to be more effective than first treatments. Other psychopathology scales (apart from positive symptoms) and verbal memory were not affected by real or sham TMS. Previous positive studies could not be replicated with these parameters. TMS is safe if applied within the protocol used. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In contrast to studies of cognitive functioning in adults with schizophrenia, there has been a relative paucity of studies assessing adolescents with schizophrenia. We investigated cognitive functioning in 22 adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders compared with 30 healthy adolescents. The patient group demonstrated impaired performance on all of the functions investigated except sustained attention. Against the background of this broad impairment, executive function and psychomotor speed were the most impaired, sustained attention was spared, while preattentional processing, early visual information processing, visual long-term memory, auditory short-term memory and working memory emerged as relative deficits. The study shows that adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders demonstrate a similar pattern of cognitive functioning to adults in all areas, except sustained attention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a previous study early non-psychotic deviant behaviors in US adult schizophrenic patients recruited for a large-scale genetic study were examined (Psychiatry Research, 101, 101). Early deviance characterized a distinct subgroup of patients at rates that were consistent with earlier reports. In addition, specific early non-psychotic deviant behaviors were meaningfully associated with later disease outcomes. In the present study, we examined the demographic, syndrome course, symptom and early deviant behavior history of 109 Afrikaner probands who met criteria for DSM schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and compared them to 109 age- and gender-matched US probands. Consistent with past findings, 68% of Afrikaner probands, as compared to 67% of age- and gender-matched US probands, reported one or more forms of early non-psychotic deviance, including poor socialization, extreme fears/chronic sadness, and/or attention/learning impairment. The remaining 32 and 33% of probands, respectively, were without behavioral deviance until the onset of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. The frequency and distribution of individual deviant behaviors were strikingly consistent between the samples. However, logistic regression analyses revealed different patterns of associations between the early deviant behaviors manifested and disease outcome. Afrikaner participants with early fears/chronic sadness were 3 times more likely to attempt suicide, while among US participants, this form of early deviance conferred 3.5 times more risk for later schizoaffective disorder, and 3 times greater likelihood of later sensory (tactile and/or olfactory) hallucinations. Afrikaner participants with attention/learning impairment were 2.5 times more likely to experience later auditory hallucinations, while US participants with these early difficulties were 3 times more likely to experience thought disorder. We concluded that early non-psychotic childhood deviance in this independently collected Afrikaner population distinguished a distinct subtype of patients and that the forms of early deviance manifested were meaningfully linked to later disease outcome. Possible reasons for the association pattern differences in these two populations are considered. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Some, but not all, antipsychotics elevate serum prolactin. Antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia is thought to account for high rates of menstrual dysfunction and diminished estrogen levels in women with schizophrenia. However, few studies have directly assessed the relationships between prolactin, menstrual function, and ovarian hormone levels in this population. Sixteen premenopausal women with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, eight treated with an antipsychotic with prolactin-elevating potential (five with typical antipsychotics and three with risperidone) and eight treated with an antipsychotic with prolactin-sparing potential (seven with olanzapine and one with clozapine), were studied for eight weeks. Data were collected on menstrual functioning and on serum prolactin, estradiol, and progesterone levels, and were compared between subjects who received an antipsychotic with prolactin-elevating potential and an antipsychotic with prolactin-sparing potential, and between subjects with hyperprolactinemia (N=6) and normoprolactinemia (N=10). Additionally, peak ovarian hormone levels were compared to normal values. While mean prolactin levels of subjects who received an antipsychotic with prolactin-elevating potential were significantly greater than those of subjects who received an antipsychotic with prolactin-sparing potential, there were no differences in rates of menstrual dysfunction or in ovarian hormone values between the two groups. Additionally, similar rates of menstrual dysfunction and ovarian hormone values were observed between the hyperprolactinemic and normoprolactinemic subjects. Moreover, irrespective of medication type or prolactin status, most subjects had peak estradiol levels below normal reference values for the periovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle. While our sample size is small, warranting the need for further investigation, the findings of this preliminary study suggest that antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia, alone, may not adequately explain the observed ovarian dysfunction in women with schizophrenia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]