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Purpose To find suggestions for a future definitive randomized control trial and examine the effects of physical exercise on neurocognition in schizophrenia. Design and methods Patients hospitalized with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to exercise (n = 5) or control (n = 17) groups. The experimental group performed an exercise regimen for 8 weeks. Following intervention, demographics, psychiatric symptoms, and neurocognitive functions were examined. Findings The patients in the control and exercise groups, 14 and 4, respectively, showed significant differences in hospitalization duration and negative symptoms. After controlling both, neurocognition improved in the exercise group compared with the control group. Practice implications Mild-intensity physical exercise improves global neurocognition in schizophrenic inpatients and could lead to earlier release.

Splanchnic blood flow changes dramatically after meal ingestion. The present study evaluated physiologic interactions between meal ingestion and hemodynamics with respect to renal blood flow on duplex sonography, assessing the possible influence on Doppler parameters used as diagnostic criteria for renal artery stenosis. Subjects comprised 26 healthy young men (mean age: 22 ± 2 y). Sonographic measurements were made shortly after breakfast and every 1 h thereafter and were compared with values measured before the meal. Peak systolic velocity in the renal artery was elevated post-prandially, peaking at 1 h (90 ± 12 cm/s), compared with pre-prandially (73 ± 10 cm/s, p < 0.01). Similarly, acceleration time at the intra-renal segmental artery shortened to a minimum at 1 h (45 ± 5 ms) compared with baseline (51 ± 6 ms, p < 0.01). The present study indicates that renal blood flow is altered for a few hours after meal ingestion. Attention should be paid to the interpretation of data measured after meals on duplex sonography for diagnosis of renal artery stenosis.

Background Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most common disorders in the world, but is generally refractory to antidepressant treatment. However, physical exercise has been demonstrated to improve MDD symptoms, though the mechanism through which this is achieved is not clear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify whether physical exercise increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in patients with MDD to either establish or rule out this effect as a possible mechanism. Subjects and methods We searched five electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, CHINAL, Cochran Library, and Japanese Central Review of Medicine) for interventional studies released prior to 24 October 2017, examining the effects of physical exercise on BDNF in patients with MDD that compared the experimental group with an MDD control group. Those studies meeting the inclusion criteria were subjected to a meta-analysis in which changes of BDNF from baseline to post-exercise were quantified, with a standard mean difference and random effect model. Results Five studies were eligible and included 199 participants. All articles included subjects with severe symptoms; three articles studied inpatient populations. All articles introduced aerobic exercise. We found no significant effect of physical exercise on BDNF levels (Z=0.32, p=0.75), and no heterogeneity (I2=0%). The risk of bias was moderate. Conclusions We conclude that physical exercise does not significantly increase BDNF in patients with MDD. Thus, while increased BDNF has been shown to be beneficial in patients with MDD, physical exercise likely produces its benefits through a different mechanism. However, the small number of included articles and lack of multiple reviewers increase the risk of the result being a false negative.

Background The long-term benefits of physical activity on neurocognitive function among patients with schizophrenia, specifically among inpatients, remain unclear. This preliminary study, with a minimum of 6-months' follow-up, examined alterations in physical activity and neurocognitive function in both inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia. Methods Symptoms and neurocognitive function were assessed at 2 intervals using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale and Cognitrax, respectively. After each testing period, participants wore an accelerometer for 1 week to measure their levels and duration of physical activity. After the 6-months' follow-up (average duration, 235.9 ± 36.2 days), participants were divided into 2 groups based on either increased or decreased activity, as compared with baseline: increased-activity and decreased-activity groups. Results Of the 29 initially enrolled participants, 25 (mean age, 56.8 ± 11.8 years) completed the follow-up. Reaction times in the increased-activity group in daily activity (n = 10) improved as compared with the decreased-activity group (n = 15). Moreover, cognitive flexibility and executive function improved in the increased-activity group in steps (n = 7) compared with the decreased-activity group (n = 18). Finally, there was no association between the duration of moderate or vigorous exercise and neurocognitive function. Conclusions Together, our results suggest that increased daily activity and walking, but not high intensity activity, are associated with improved neurocognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.

PURPOSE We aimed to clarify the neurocognitive features of outpatients with remitted and nonremitted schizophrenia. DESIGN AND METHODS The neurocognitive functions of 22 remitted and 41 nonremitted outpatients with schizophrenia and age-matched healthy controls were compared, after controlling for demographic and psychiatric variables. FINDINGS The spatial attention scores of both groups were lower than those of age-matched healthy controls. The processing speed and visual attention of remitted patients were better than those of nonremitted patients. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Psychiatric nurses should place patients with nonremitted schizophrenia in environments that facilitate patient vigilance and limit the need for quick responses.

Hemodynamics is subject to change after eating meals, which may be related to various postprandial physical statuses such as hypotension or daytime sleepiness. Previous studies have shown that blood flow in the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) increases after meals, but conflicting results have been reported regarding blood flow in the common carotid artery (CCA). In those studies, the fasting interval before the meal was not taken into account. For example, eating breakfast shortly before lunch may affect hemodynamics in these vessels. The present study therefore investigated hemodynamics in the CCA and SMA after lunch, comparing cases with and without breakfast. Subjects comprised 24 healthy young adults (mean age, 22 ± 1 years). Duplex Doppler sonography was performed to measure blood flow values for calculating flow volume (FV) before and after lunch until 3 h postprandially, on each day with breakfast and without breakfast, respectively, in every subject. Net FV after lunch did not differ between cases with and without breakfast, either in the SMA or in the CCA. Blood FV in the SMA was significantly increased after eating lunch regardless of whether breakfast was eaten (P

Purpose We aimed to examine whether neurocognition in individuals with nonremitted schizophrenia differed between inpatients and outpatients. Design and methods We recruited 59 inpatients and 41 patients with nonremitted schizophrenia (assessed with the Andreason criteria), and neurocognitive functions were compared between both, controlling for demographics, psychiatric symptoms. Findings Outpatients with nonremitted schizophrenia performed better on tests of processing speed, visual attention, and working memory than did inpatients with nonremitted. Practice implications To facilitate discharge for nonremitted inpatients, nursing could focus on processing speed, e.g., arranging the environment such that patients do not need quick responses.

Background Neurocognitive dysfunction is a critical target symptom of schizophrenia treatment. A positive correlation between physical activity level and neurocognitive function has been reported in healthy individuals, but it is unclear whether such a correlation exists in patients with schizophrenia and whether the relationship is different according to inpatients or outpatients. This study aimed to examine the differences in the correlations between physical activity and multiple neurocognitive domains in inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia and obtain suggestions for further study to facilitate this field. Methods Twenty-nine patients with schizophrenia were examined (16 inpatients and 13 outpatients, 56.0 ± 11.4 years of age). Current symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale and neurocognitive functions using Cognitrax, which yields a composite neurocognitive index (NCI) and 11 domain scores. After testing, participants wore an HJA-750C accelerometer for one week to measure physical activity levels and durations. Partial correlation analyses were performed between exercise and cognitive parameters. Results In the outpatient group, higher physical activity was associated with faster Motor and Psychomotor Speeds in outpatients. However, higher physical activity was associated with lower overall NCI, Attention score, and Memory scores in inpatients. Conclusion Although higher physical activity was associated with better neurocognitive functions of outpatients, in inpatients with non-remitted schizophrenia, higher physical activity was associated with worsening of several cognitive domains. In a future study examining the relationship between physical activity and neurocognitive function for facilitating this research field, separation between inpatients and outpatients are needed because the relationship is different between inpatients and outpatients. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-016-1176-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

INTRODUCTION; Cognitive dysfunctions of schizophrenia predict daily living problems in patients, and psychiatric nurses should consider neurocognitive abilities of schizophrenic patients. However, development of nursing care considering their neurocognitive function is remains preliminary. To facilitate the development, clarifying the methodology of recent studies is required.AIM; To clarify the methodology of the study of nursing care considering neurocognitive functions of schizophrenic patients and to obtain suggestions for further studies.METHOD; Electronic databases were searched using key terms.RESULTS; Nine articles were eligible. Seven articles discussed enhancing neurocognitive functions and only investigated inpatients. The measurement methods used to determine neurocognitive functions varied among the nine articles. Some articles introduced video games or dedicated rooms, while some used structured methods as nursing intervention.DISCUSSION; Future studies are required to use methods that measure several neurocognitive domains, examine intervention efficacy in outpatients and first-episode patients and develop feasible interventional methods in clinical settings.