OBJECTIVE Lack of insight into illness has long been recognized as a central characteristic of schizophrenia. Although recent theories have emphasized neurocognitive dysfunction as a central impairment in schizophrenia it remains unclear whether the lack of insight in schizophrenia is more strongly associated with measures of symptom severity or neuropsychological dysfunction. METHODS Seventy...

Introduction: The objective is to evaluate the presence and clinical relevance of the Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (JHS) among patients with schizophrenia. Methods: One hundred and twenty four outpatients with DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia were assessed by means of the following: Hospital del Mar criteria for joint Hypermobility (JHdMar), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Fear S...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to examine the cross-cultural differences of the PANSS across six geo-cultural regions. The specific aims are (1) to examine measurement properties of the PANSS; and (2) to examine how each of the 30 items function across geo-cultural regions. METHODS Data was obtained for 1,169 raters from 6 different regions: Eastern Asia (n = 202), India (n = 185)...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the addition of buspirone, a partial agonist of 5HT1A receptor, to ongoing treatment with typical antipsychotics would improve the positive and negative symptoms in patients with chronic schizophrenia. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, 50 patients including 40 male and 10 female were recruited with chronic schizophrenia w...

OBJECTIVE This pilot, twelve-week, open-label study examined the effect of clozapine orally disintegrating tablet or ODT in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder utilizing Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) as a long-term outcome measurement tool. METHODS The final study sample consisted of nineteen subjects who were residents a long-term care psychiatric facility...

BACKGROUND There have not been any reports in Japan clarifying the efficacy and safety of intramuscular (IM) olanzapine and IM levomepromazine in agitated elderly patients with schizophrenia. This study was a comparative investigation of the clinical efficacy and safety of IM olanzapine and IM levomepromazine in agitated elderly patients with schizophrenia at 2 hours post-dose. METHODS The su...

OBJECTIVE To meta-analytically assess the efficacy and tolerability of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) vs placebo in schizophrenia. METHOD Searching PubMed, PsycINFO, ISI Web of Science, and the US National Institute of Mental Health clinical trials registry from database inception to December 31, 2012, we conducted a systematic review/meta-analysis of randomized placebo-control...

AIMS The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of valproate (Depakine-Chrono) versus placebo for the treatment of acute alcohol hallucinosis. METHODS 10 days' randomized, double-blind, parallel study was conducted; 40 patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of acute alcohol hallucinosis were randomized to valproate (Depakine-Chrono) 3000 mg/day (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20). The p...

UNLABELLED The serotoninergic system as a target for add-on treatment seems to be a promising approach in patients with schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE To clarify if selective 5HT-6 antagonist AVN-211 (CD-008-0173) adds clinical and cognitive effects to stable antipsychotic treatment. METHODS A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, add-on, 4r-week trial in 47 schizophrenia patients (21 pat...

BACKGROUND Early improvement with treatment is thought to be important in patients with first-episode schizophrenia, yet a valid definition is still outstanding. AIMS To develop a valid definition of early improvement and test its predictive validity regarding response and remission. METHOD We examined 188 in-patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Early improvement was defined as improv...