OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between symptoms of schizophrenia and caregiver burden/distress among caregivers of people with schizophrenia in southwestern Nigeria. METHOD One hundred and one family caregivers of 101 patients with schizophrenia were recruited into the study. Caregivers were screened with the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) to measure caregiver burden and the 30 item Ge...

OBJECTIVE To examine changes in subjective and objective dimensions of quality of life (QoL) in a large Canadian sample of patients with diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder treated in academic and non-academic settings over a 2-year period. METHOD Patients recruited in the study across the country were assessed for QoL and functioning using the Client and Provider versions ...

BACKGROUND Data on the potential behavioral effects of music therapy in autism are scarce. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate whether a musical training program based on interactive music therapy sessions could enhance the behavioral profile and the musical skills of young adults affected by severe autism. METHODOLOGY Young adults (N = 8) with severe (Childhood Autism Rating...

AIMS Presence of the null FS63TER allele of the rs1800169 polymorphism in the gene encoding the ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) may increase the risk of schizophrenia. This study prospectively evaluated the CNTF rs1800169 genotype (G/G vs non-G/G) effects on response to iloperidone. PATIENTS & METHODS Iloperidone 24 mg/day was evaluated in a study of patients with schizophrenia. Efficacy m...

Ayahuasca is an Amazonian botanical hallucinogenic brew which contains dimethyltryptamine, a 5-HT2A receptor agonist, and harmine, a monoamine-oxidase A inhibitor. Our group recently reported that ayahuasca administration was associated with fast-acting antidepressive effects in 6 depressive patients. The objective of the present work was to assess the antidepressive potentials of ayahuasca in ...

Methods: Participants, aged ≥60 years, were experiencing suboptimal response—defined as irritability, agitation, and mood lability or diminished ability to take care of basic personal needs as a result of their illness—to their current bipolar disorder medication. All patients had open-label, flexible-dose, sublingual asenapine added to their current medication for 12 weeks. Responses were eval...

OBJECTIVE Patients suffering from psychosis are more likely than the general population to commit aggressive acts, but the therapeutics of aggressive behavior are still a matter of debate. METHODS This pilot randomized, open-label study compared the efficacy of quetiapine versus olanzapine in reducing impulsive and aggressive behaviors (primary endpoints) and psychotic symptoms (secondary end...

BACKGROUND Neuroimaging studies have suggested the possible role of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, no study has investigated the detailed structures of the cerebellum in patients without a history of neuroleptic medication. The objective of this study is to examine the volume of detailed structures of the cerebellum in neuroleptic-naive schizophrenic patients a...

AIM Evaluate the effectiveness of self-management training in community-dwelling adults with schizophrenia. METHODS A total of 201 individuals with chronic schizophrenia (mean duration of illness of 17.4 years) were recruited and randomized into the self-management intervention group (n=103) and treatment-as-usual control group (n=98). The self-management training involved weekly group sessio...