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

Is the PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) instrument for schizophrenia being used correctly?

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The PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) is one of the most important rating instruments for patients with schizophrenia. Kay’s original 1987 article on PANSS has been cited more than 4,000 times making it one of the most frequently cited schizophrenia articles on PubMed. Despite its common use there still seems to be profound uncertainty [read the full story…]

Regional variation in health professional attitudes to antipsychotic polypharmacy for schizophrenia

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This cross-sectional study used a postal questionnaire to find out if there are regional differences in the attitudes of doctors and nurses to antipsychotic polypharmacy and the use of clinical guidelines. A survey was sent to 2 pairs of treatment settings in Denmark, characterized by low and high prevalence of antipsychotic polypharmacy, respectively. The questionnaire [read the full story…]

Treating schizophrenia with olanzapine long acting injections (LAI) may be more cost effective than oral olanzapine or other LAIs

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This year long study carried out by Medical Decision Modeling in Indianapolis set out to measure the cost-effectiveness of the olanzapine long-acting injection with other antipsychotic long-acting injections and oral olanzapine in treating patients with schizophrenia who had trouble adhering to oral drug treatment. The study used a micro-simulation economic decision model to replicate usual care. [read the full story…]

People with psychosis are more likely to be convicted of arson

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Existing studies have identified associations between psychosis and serious crimes such as homicide, but to date it has been unclear to what extent psychotic disorders are associated with arson (the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to buildings or the natural environment). This study conducted by researchers at Oxford University used data from the Swedish [read the full story…]

Inhaled loxapine is an effective acute treatment for agitation in schizophrenia

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There is a need for a rapid-acting, non-injection, acute treatment for agitation in people with schizophrenia. This randomised (double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group) controlled trial set out to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of inhaled loxapine for acute treatment of agitation in schizophrenia. The researchers recruited 344 adults with DSM-IV schizophrenia who were in good general health [read the full story…]

Psychoeducation seems to reduce relapse, readmission and encourage medication compliance for people with schizophrenia

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Schizophrenia can be a severe and chronic illness characterised by lack of insight and poor compliance with treatment. Psychoeducational approaches have been developed to increase patients’ knowledge of, and insight into, their illness and its treatment. It is supposed that this increased knowledge and insight will enable people with schizophrenia to cope in a more [read the full story…]

Depot antipsychotic drugs may reduce relapse in patients with schizophrenia

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Many people with schizophrenia struggle to adhere to their oral antipsychotic drug regimen.  It is thought that depot antipsychotic drugs (a special preparation of the medication, which is given by injection and is slowly released into the body over a number of weeks) may reduce relapse rates by improving adherence. This systematic review searched for randomised controlled [read the full story…]

Child sexual abuse may be important cause of schizophrenia

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Childhood sexual abuse is a strong predictor of schizophrenia in later life, a leading psychiatrist has told the International Congress of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 2011. It is a contributing cause of 17 per cent of cases of psychotic illness including schizophrenia, Professor Paul Bebbington, Head of the Department of Mental Health Sciences at [read the full story…]

Quetiapine better than risperidone for treating depression in people with schizophrenia

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Many published guidelines (including the American Psychiatric Association Clinical Practice Guidelines for schizophrenia), recommend second-generation antipsychotics for the treatment of depression in schizophrenia. This study compared a first-generation antipsychotic (perphenazine) with 4 second-generation antipsychotics (olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone) and the impact these drugs had on the symptoms of depression.  The authors used data from the Clinical [read the full story…]

Early intervention for psychosis: updated Cochrane review remains inconclusive

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The Cochrane Scizophrenia Group have updated the systematic review that brings together all randomised controlled trials (RCTs) designed to prevent progression to psychosis in people showing prodromal symptoms, or to improve outcome for people with first-episode psychosis. The reviewers found 18 RCTs this time around, but (as is often the case with systematic reviews) the [read the full story…]