Since a proposal in 1986 that schizophrenia involved early neurodevelopmental deviations beginning in intrauterine life that showed varying expressivity as relevant neural systems matured, our understanding of the developmental components of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia has substantially evolved. This commentary highlights recent genetic and epigenetic evidence that prenatal development is a critical period for the expression of schizophrenia risk. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Ample evidence supports a neurodevelopmental origin in some cases of schizophrenia (SZ). More inconsistent information is available for bipolar disorder (BD). We herein review studies with a focus on premorbid (adjustment and functionality) and early developmental milestones that include both SZ and BD patients. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Individuals with schizophrenia had a greater prevalence of individual and multiple CVD risk factors compared with those without schizophrenia, which persisted over time. Our findings suggest that public health efforts to reduce the burden of CVD risk factors have not been as effective in the schizophrenia population, thus highlighting the need for more targeted interventions and prevention strategies.
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Open access. Treatment resistance is a challenge for the management of schizophrenia. It is not always clear whether inadequate response is secondary to medication ineffectiveness, as opposed to medication underexposure due to non-adherence or pharmacokinetic factors. We investigated the prevalence of subtherapeutic antipsychotic plasma levels in patients identified as treatment-resistant by their treating clinician.
Many studies show that people experiencing psychosis find religion and spirituality to be helpful during times of distress, yet nurses often lack training and confidence to respond to the spiritual needs of their patients. This article begins with an overview of the largely medical model through which psychosis is assessed and addressed in the UK, followed by some definitions of spirituality and religion. Then using a case study of Lucy, a 60-year-old African-Caribbean woman, a critical analysis considers if and how engagement with her religious beliefs in an acute inpatient setting could have improved the nurse-patient relationship and promoted recovery from an acute psychotic episode. The impact of task-driven nursing care upon meaningful engagement is explored and nurses are encouraged to focus on quality rather than length of nurse-patient interactions. The association between religiosity and psychopathology is then considered in terms of impact upon person-centred care. The value of co-creating a narrative with patients in order to promote engagement and recovery is discussed. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details.
Child maltreatment is a widespread public health problem associated with a range of mental health disorders later in life. In order to effectively address these disorders, there is a need to understand more about the mental health consequences of different types of child maltreatment. This study examines the associations between prospectively substantiated child maltreatment (ages 0–14 y) and reports of hallucinations and delusional experiences at 21 years after birth. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Neuroimaging studies investigating dopamine (DA) function widely support the hypothesis of presynaptic striatal DA hyperactivity in schizophrenia. However, published data on the striatal DA transporter (DAT) appear less consistent with this hypothesis, probably partly due to methodological limitations. Moreover, DAT in extrastriatal regions has been very poorly investigated in the context of schizophrenia. In order to address these issues, we used a high resolution positron emission tomograph and the selective DAT radioligand [11C]PE2I, coupled with a whole brain voxel-based analysis method to investigate DAT availability......Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) affects around one-third of individuals with schizophrenia. Although a number of sociodemographic and clinical predictors of TRS have been identified, data on the genetic risk of TRS are sparse. We aimed to investigate the association between a polygenic risk score for schizophrenia and treatment resistance in patients with schizophrenia. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
Nearly one-third of individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) develop a psychotic disorder during life, most of them by early adulthood. Importantly, a full-blown psychotic episode is usually preceded by subthreshold symptoms. Please contact the library to request a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai