schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms. These include: hallucinations (hearing or seeing things that do not exist), delusions (unusual beliefs that are not based on reality and often contradict the evidence), muddled thoughts based on the hallucinations or delusions, and changes in behaviour. Doctors describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness. This means that sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality.

Our schizophrenia Blogs

Young people with psychotic symptoms should be offered CBT before antipsychotics, according to new RCT

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Antipsychotic drugs are currently prescribed to a significant proportion of young people who are diagnosed with psychosis. Past research has estimated that up to half of people at risk of developing psychosis at a young age will progress to a full blown psychotic illness such as schizophrenia. A new landmark randomised controlled trial has been [read the full story…]

New systematic review shows how the incidence of schizophrenia and other psychoses has changed since 1950

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This is one in a series of 5 systematic reviews commissioned by the Department of Health, which seek to establish a comprehensive understanding of the distribution and pattern of psychotic disorders in England, between 1950 and 2009. All mental health professionals, commissioners and health planners will find this research relevant to their work. It’s well [read the full story…]

Life skills programmes are no better than standard care or support groups for people with chronic mental illness

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People with chronic mental illnesses such as schizophrenia often struggle to cope with the basic tasks that life throws at them. Their health condition and the often debilitating effects of medication can make simple things like going to the shop or cleaning the house almost insurmountable hurdles. Various rehabilitation therapies are used to help people [read the full story…]

Lifestyle education can help people with diabetes and schizophrenia lose weight, according to new systematic review

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For many different reasons, people with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders have a greater risk of type 2 diabetes.  The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in people with schizophrenia is twice that of the general population. This review looked for evidence of the efficacy of interventions to help people with schizophrenia manage their diabetes. Clinical question [read the full story…]

Group art therapy does no better than standard care at improving symptoms for people with schizophrenia

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People with schizophrenia experience a wide range of symptoms, which are broadly categorised into ‘positive’ symptoms (e.g. hallucinations and delusions) and ‘negative’ symptoms (e.g. lethargy, lack of motivation and poor attention). Evidence shows that positive symptoms can be well managed with antipsychotic drugs, which also reduce the chances of relapse, but these medications can have [read the full story…]

How to speak to your psychiatrist: are we ready for shared decision making in mental health?

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There’s a lot of talk about ‘shared decision making’ in the NHS right now. Many mental health patients say that they do not feel that they are properly listened to or that their expertise is not valued in the consultation, but it’s clear that many health professionals are quite evangelical about working in partnership with [read the full story…]

No good quality research to guide the treatment of late-onset schizophrenia

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Late-onset schizophrenia is relatively common. Onset after the age of 40 years is reported in 23% of patients hospitalised with schizophrenia. The condition is different from early-onset schizophrenia on a number of counts, including the response to antipsychotic drugs. This Cochrane review set out to assess the effects of antipsychotic drugs for elderly people with [read the full story…]

First-generation versus second-generation antipsychotics for preventing relapse in schizophrenia

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This new systematic review compares how effective first-generation antipsychotics (FGAs) and second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are at preventing relapse in patients with schizophrenia. The authors carried out a meta-analysis of 23 randomised controlled trials that lasted for ≥6 months and compared FGAs with SGAs in schizophrenia. The outcomes they studied were: Study defined relapse Relapse at 3, [read the full story…]

Fewer than one in ten people with schizophrenia show sustained improvement over 3 years

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This large prospective observational study followed 1,635 chronically ill patients with schizophrenia for a 3 year period. The aim was to identify the best baseline predictors of recovery. Sixty-two factors were assessed as possible prognostic variables, including patient-reported variables, clinician-rated variables and medical record based resource utilisation. Here’s what they found: The likelihood of a [read the full story…]

Optimal use of atypical antipsychotics in adolescents and adults with schizophrenia

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This ‘optimal use’ project from the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health assesses the clinical and economic impact of using atypical antipsychotic combination therapy, as well as high-dosing treatment strategies, in adolescents and adults with schizophrenia. The report was produced by an expert panel who based their recommendations on a systematic review and [read the full story…]