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Depressive symptom in caregivers of schizophrenia patients
Results: Sixteen (40%) had stopped smoking post-group and seven (18%) remained abstinent at three months. These changes were significant (p < 0.001) and are comparable to quit rates for non-psychiatric populations. There was significant improvement of nicotine dependence (p < 0.001) and no changes in symptoms. Most of those who quit used transdermal nicotine. These results suggest that stopping smoking is possible for individuals with schizophrenia especially if the treatment is specifically designed for this population.
Depressive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia: diff... Comprehensive Psychiatry |
Depressive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia: different effects on clinical features Comprehensive Psychiatry, Volume 46, Issue 4, July-August 2005, Pages 304-310 Paola Rocca, Silvio Bellino, Paolo Calvarese, Livio Marchiaro, Luca Patria, Roberta Rasetti, Filippo Bogetto Abstract ObjectiveThe primary aim of this study was to investigate whether depressive symptoms were significantly associated with functional outcome measures in a clinically stable group of outpatients with schizophrenia. We also analyzed whether depressive and negative symptoms presented different patterns of predictors.MethodSeventy-eight consecutive outpatients meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision criteria for schizophrenia in the stable period were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Assessment were performed using the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia, Positive and Negative Syndromes Scale (PANSS), Clinical Global Impression Scale-severity, Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale, Sheehan Disability Scale, and Quality of Life Scale. A neuropsychologic battery including the vocabulary and block design subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, Wechsler Memory Scale, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Continuous Performance Test was also administered to the patients. Two multiple regressions were performed testing demographic and clinical factors, rating scales, and cognitive measures as independent variables and Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia and PANSS-negative subscale scores as dependent variables. ResultsFour variables were predictors of depressive symptoms in our sample of schizophrenic patients: 2 outcome measures (Sheehan Disability Scale and Quality of Life Scale), gender, and Continuous Performance Test reaction time. Predictors of negative symptoms were the measures of severity of psychopathology (Clinical Global Impression Scale-severity and PANSS-general psychopathology subscale) and the cognitive tests Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised block design and Wechsler Memory Scale. ConclusionWe found that depressive symptoms in schizophrenia are mainly a function of the level of social adjustment and quality of life, whereas negative symptoms constitute an indicator of severity of schizophrenia. The 2 symptom dimensions showed also distinct cognitive correlates. Purchase PDF (121 K) |
Reduced P3 amplitudes by negative facial emotional phot... Schizophrenia Research |
Reduced P3 amplitudes by negative facial emotional photographs in schizophrenia Schizophrenia Research, Volume 64, Issues 2-3, 15 November 2003, Pages 125-135 Suk Kyoon An, Soo Jung Lee, Choong Heon Lee, Hyun Sang Cho, Pil Goo Lee, Chang-il Lee, Eun Lee, Kyu-sik Roh, Kee Namkoong Abstract Event-related potentials (ERPs), mostly P3, were measured in 20 schizophrenia and 20 healthy control subjects, in order to determine whether patients with schizophrenia have greater impairment in the processing of negative emotions. Study subjects were instructed to feel and respond to rare targets of facial photographs placed between frequent nontarget checkerboards. We found that P3 amplitudes associated with negative emotional photographs, in normal controls, were significantly larger than those of positive stimuli. Unlike the controls, in patients with schizophrenia, P3 amplitudes generated by negative emotional targets were significantly smaller than those of positive stimuli. We conclude that schizophrenia patients might be neurophysiologically different from healthy controls in terms of the manner in which they process facial emotion. Our findings are in line with previous neurobehavioral studies, in which patients with schizophrenia showed greater impairment in the recognition of negative emotions. Purchase PDF (286 K) |
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Depressive symptom in caregivers of schizophrenia patients