BACKGROUND Loss of gray matter has been previously found in early-onset schizophrenic patients. However, there are no consistent findings between studies due to different methods used to measure grey matter volume/density and influences of confounding factors. METHODS The volume of gray matter (GM) was measured in 29 first episode early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) and 34 well-matched healthy co...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The superiority of atypical antipsychotics (also known as second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs)) over typical antipsychotics (first generation antipsychotics (FGAs)) for negative symptom control in schizophrenic patients is widely debated. The objective of this study was to characterize the time course of the scores of the 3 subscales (positive, negative, general) of...

OBJECTIVES To study the relation between obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and positive, negative, and depressive symptoms in patients with recent-onset schizophrenic disorders. METHODS We undertook a prospective study of 113 consecutively hospitalized patients with recent-onset schizophrenia or related disorders diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria. We compared 3 subgroups: one without c...

BACKGROUND Psychotic symptoms may be present in up to 40% of patients with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this study, we hypothesized that severity of psychotic symptoms would also reflect severity of PTSD symptoms in patients with well-defined psychotic features. METHODS Forty-five Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD but without a primary psychotic disorder diagnosis u...

BACKGROUND The dogma of a delayed onset of antipsychotic treatment effects has been maintained over the past decades. However, recent studies have challenged this concept. We therefore performed an analysis of the onset of antipsychotic treatment effects in a sample of acutely decompensated patients with schizophrenia. METHODS In this observational study, 48 inpatients with acutely decompensa...

OBJECTIVE This study examined the risk factors for decreased bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with schizophrenia. METHODS Cluster sampling method was adopted in this large-sample, cross-sectional study. A total of 219 postmenopausal female inpatients with schizophrenia were selected and interviewed in Beijing. The average age of the patients was 60.4±7.0 years. Clinical asse...

OBJECTIVES The causes and nature of insensitivity to pain in schizophrenia remain unknown. The role of endorphins and the association of cognitive dysfunction and negative symptoms are postulated. METHODS In this study, 43 patients with schizophrenia, five first-degree relatives, and 34 healthy controls were examined. Participants' plasma concentrations of substance P, β-endorphin, and calcit...

BACKGROUND In clinical practice, physicians often need to change the antipsychotic medications they give to patients because of an inadequate response or the presence of unacceptable or unsafe side effects. However, there is a lack of consensus in the field as to the optimal switching strategy for antipsychotics, especially with regards to the speed at which the dose of the previous antipsychot...

The aim of this study was to develop a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PKPD) model that quantifies the efficacy of haloperidol, accounting for the placebo effect, the variability in exposure-response, and the dropouts. Subsequently, the developed model was utilized to characterize an effective dosing strategy for using haloperidol as a comparator drug in future antipsychotic drug trials. The t...

j Abstract Objective The aim was to investigate the hypothesis that patients with first episode schizophrenic disorders have a more favorable treatment response than those with multiple episodes. Method A total of 400 inpatients from an ongoing multi-centre, follow-up program who fulfilled ICD-10 criteria for schizophrenic disorders (F2) were assessed at admission to and discharge from hospital...