Sleep problems are very common in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and impact negatively on functioning and wellbeing. Research regarding interventions to improve sleep in this population has been lacking. Little is known regarding these patient’s perspectives on sleep problems and their treatment, providing very little foundation on which to develop acceptable and patient-centred treatments.
Hypoactive delirium tends to capture less clinical attention than hyperactive delirium. Like all delirium, it can occur in a variety of patients and settings and will consequently be encountered by many groups of doctors. It can be more difficult to recognise, and is associated with worse outcomes, than hyperactive delirium. This article outlines when to suspect, assess, and appropriately manage patients with hypoactive delirium.
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The therapeutic benefits achieved by the extended, 3-year early intervention were not sustainable after termination of the specialised service. To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details
Antipsychotic drug sensitivity in very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis (VLOSLP) is well documented, but poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate blood drug concentration, D2/3 receptor occupancy and outcome in VLOSLP during open amisulpride prescribing, and compare this with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Login using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details for full text.
We report a case of a patient experiencing wearing-off symptoms with aripiprazole LAI who benefited from switching to aripiprazole lauroxil. Pharmacogenetic testing revealed normal activity for relevant metabolism pathways but a DRD2 -141C variant that may influence brain D2 expression and antipsychotic responsiveness.
This meta-analysis compares the multiple pharmacologic combination strategies that have been studied for suboptimal treatment responses in schizophrenia....Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Negative symptoms and cognitive impairments tend to co-occur in people with schizophrenia. If their association with each other is due, in part, to shared pathophysiology, then this suggests that a single drug could potentially be effective for both domains. The current study was designed to examine this hypothesis. SSSFT staff can use the OVID link, or you can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Despite clinical guidelines recommendations, many relatives of people with psychosis or bipolar disorder do not currently receive the support they need. Online information and support may offer a solution.
Open Access Article
Schizophrenia is a complex, heterogeneous disorder, with highly variable treatment outcomes, and relatively little is known about what is important to patients. The aim of the study was to understand treatment outcomes informal carers perceive to be important to people with schizophrenia.
CBTp is recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for service users with psychosis at every stage of their illness, but provision of this intervention is not widespread. This narrative literature review critically appraised six primary studies, all of which view CBTp through the eyes of service users, revealing their perceptions of CBTp experiences and of their therapists. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
This population-based study compares psychiatric hospital readmission in patients with severe affective disorders based on receipt of electroconvulsive therapy.....Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Non-adherence is a major public health problem despite treatment advances. Poor drug adherence in patients with psychosis is associated with more frequent relapse, re-hospitalization, increased consumption of health services and poor outcomes on a variety of measures. Adherence rate in patients with first episode psychosis have been found to vary from 40 to 60%. However, most previous studies have addressed the consequences of non-adherence rather than its potential causes.
The purpose of this study was, therefore, to investigate experiential factors which may affect adherence to medication in adults with psychotic disorders, during the 24-month period after the onset of treatment.
This study evaluated rates of all-cause mortality and self-harm in association with clozapine treatment in individuals with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Login at top right hand side of page using your SSSFT NHS Athens for full text.
For approximately one third of individuals treated for psychosis or schizophrenia, antipsychotic medications will have little or no therapeutic benefit. Clozapine remains the sole medication approved for treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and studies have demonstrated its superior efficacy in reducing psychotic symptoms. SSSFT staff can use the OVID link, or you can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Patients with first-episode psychosis exposed to childhood trauma appear to constitute a distinctive subgroup in terms of diagnosis and lifetime substance use. SSSFT staff - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
Editorial. There is a debate about long-term treatment of schizophrenia with antipsychotic drugs, with some experts suggesting that these drugs should be discontinued. In this issue, Takeuchi et al demonstrated by a meta-analysis of 11 trials that antipsychotic drugs maintained their efficacy for relapse prevention for 1 year, whereas patients on placebo kept getting worse. We consider these findings in the light of the current discussion about possible dose-related brain volume loss, supersensitivity psychosis, the high variability of results in long-term follow-up studies and recent approaches to discontinue antipsychotics in patients with a first-episode. The new findings speak in favour of continuing antipsychotics at the same dose, at least in patients whose condition is chronic, but the topic is complex. SSSFT staff - You can request a copy of this article by replying to this email. Please ensure you are clear which article you are requesting.
The interaction of single nucleotide polymorphisms with both distal and proximal environmental factors across the extended psychosis phenotype is understudied. This study examined (i) the interaction of relevant SNPs with both early-life adversity and proximal (momentary) stress on psychotic experiences (PEs) in an extended psychosis sample; and (ii) differences between early-psychosis and non-clinical groups for these interactions. To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details.
There has been a resurgence of interest in the role of childhood trauma in the aetiology of psychosis. In this review, recent findings on the association between childhood trauma and a continuum of psychotic symptoms are presented. Evidence of the association between specific childhood trauma subtypes and psychotic symptoms is examined, with a brief discussion of some current hypotheses about the potential mechanisms underlying the associations that have been found. Some practice implications of these findings are also highlighted. To read the full article, log in using your SSSFT NHS OpenAthens details.
A. Laenen, T. Vangeneugden, H. Geys, and G. Molenberghs. The British journal of mathematical and statistical psychology, 59 (Pt 1):
113-31(May 2006)Mesures de concordància; Online; ICC; Psiquiatria.