scholarly journals Treatment Resistance: A Time-Based Approach for Early Identification in First Episode Psychosis

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 711
Author(s):  
Kara Dempster ◽  
Annie Li ◽  
Priyadharshini Sabesan ◽  
Ross Norman ◽  
Lena Palaniyappan

Although approximately 1/3 of individuals with schizophrenia are Treatment Resistant (TR), identifying these subjects prospectively remains challenging. The Treatment Response and Resistance in Psychosis working group defines <20% improvement as an indicator of TR, though its utility in First Episode Schizophrenia (FES) remains unknown. In a prospective cohort of FES (n = 129) followed up for 5 years, we evaluated two improvement thresholds for ‘probable TR’; <20% and <50% based on positive, negative, and total symptoms. We ascertained (1) the ecological validity (i.e., the ability to identify an expected subgroup of 1/3rd of patients); (2) the predictive validity (i.e., ability to predict poor global functioning) and (3) the clinical utility (association with clozapine use at the 5th year). Using the criteria of a total symptom reduction of <50% or negative symptom reduction of <20% resulted in ‘probable TR’ rates of 37% and 33%, respectively. Using <20% positive or total symptoms criteria resulted in very low rates, indicating minimal utility in FES. <50% total symptom criterion best predicted the global functioning over 5 years. Clozapine use was only predicted by positive symptom criterion. Prospective characterization of TRS is possible at 6 months after FES through a time-based approach using a 50% threshold for symptom change in treatment-adherent patients.

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 537-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shantala Hegde ◽  
Jagadhisha Thirthalli ◽  
Shobini L. Rao ◽  
Ahalya Raguram ◽  
Mariamma Philip ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol Volume 16 ◽  
pp. 1279-1284
Author(s):  
Valentin Petre Matei ◽  
Alexandra Ioana Mihăilescu ◽  
Iuliana Raluca Gheorghe ◽  
Ruxandra Grigoraş ◽  
Andrei Crasan ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kamali ◽  
B.D. Kelly ◽  
M. Clarke ◽  
S. Browne ◽  
M. Gervin ◽  
...  

AbstractThe aim of this study was to identify the features of first episode schizophrenia that predict adherence antipsychotic medication at six-month follow-up. We used validated instruments to assess clinical and socio-demographic variables in all patients with first episode schizophrenia from a defined geographical area admitted to a Dublin psychiatric hospital over a four-year period (N = 100). At six-month follow-up (N = 60) we assessed adherence to medication using the Compliance Interview. One third of patients with schizophrenia were non-adherent with medication within six months of their first episode of illness. High levels of positive symptoms at baseline, lack of insight at baseline, alcohol misuse at baseline and previous drug misuse predict non-adherence. These results indicate that an identifiable subgroup of patients with first episode schizophrenia is at high risk of early non-adherence to medication. While high positive symptom scores pre-date and predict non-adherence in most patients, reduced insight is the best predictor of non-adherence in patients who do not misuse alcohol or other drugs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (11) ◽  
pp. 1981-1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Demjaha ◽  
J. M. Lappin ◽  
D. Stahl ◽  
M. X. Patel ◽  
J. H. MacCabe ◽  
...  

BackgroundWe examined longitudinally the course and predictors of treatment resistance in a large cohort of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients from initiation of antipsychotic treatment. We hypothesized that antipsychotic treatment resistance is: (a) present at illness onset; and (b) differentially associated with clinical and demographic factors.MethodThe study sample comprised 323 FEP patients who were studied at first contact and at 10-year follow-up. We collated clinical information on severity of symptoms, antipsychotic medication and treatment adherence during the follow-up period to determine the presence, course and predictors of treatment resistance.ResultsFrom the 23% of the patients, who were treatment resistant, 84% were treatment resistant from illness onset. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that diagnosis of schizophrenia, negative symptoms, younger age at onset, and longer duration of untreated psychosis predicted treatment resistance from illness onset.ConclusionsThe striking majority of treatment-resistant patients do not respond to first-line antipsychotic treatment even at time of FEP. Clinicians must be alert to this subgroup of patients and consider clozapine treatment as early as possible during the first presentation of psychosis.


2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 1619-1626 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nordentoft ◽  
J. Øhlenschlæger ◽  
A. Thorup ◽  
L. Petersen ◽  
Pia Jeppesen ◽  
...  

BackgroundThe effects of hospital-based rehabilitation including weekly supportive psychodynamic therapy compared with specialized assertive intervention and standard treatment has not previously been investigated in first-episode psychosis. The aim of the study was to examine long-term effect on use of institutional care of different intensive interventions for patients with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder on use of psychiatric bed days and days in supported housing.MethodA total of 94 severely ill patients with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders were included in a special part of the Copenhagen OPUS trial and randomized to either the specialized assertive intervention program (OPUS), standard treatment or hospital-based rehabilitation.ResultsIt was a stable pattern that patients randomized to hospital-based rehabilitation spent more days in psychiatric wards and in supported housing throughout the 5-year follow-up period compared with the two other groups. Patients in OPUS treatment spent significantly fewer days in psychiatric wards and supported housing in the first 3 years compared with patients in hospital-based rehabilitation. Due to attrition and small sample size, differences in level of psychotic and negative symptoms at 5-year follow-up could not be evaluated.ConclusionsThe study indicates that hospital-based rehabilitation together with weekly supportive psychodynamic therapy was associated with a continued increased use of psychiatric bed days and days in supported housing. The data cannot justify using hospital-based rehabilitation in first-episode psychosis.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Buchy ◽  
Michael Bodnar ◽  
Ashok Malla ◽  
Ridha Joober ◽  
Martin Lepage

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1200-1206
Author(s):  
Seo Woo Kim ◽  
Sun-Young Moon ◽  
Wu Jeong Hwang ◽  
Silvia Kyungjin Lho ◽  
Sanghoon Oh ◽  
...  

Objective Although previous studies have reported impaired performance in the reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET), which measures complex emotion recognition abilities, in patients with schizophrenia, reports regarding individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis have been inconsistent, mainly due to the interacting confounding effects of general cognitive abilities and age. We compared RMET performances across first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, CHR individuals, and healthy controls (HCs) while controlling for the effects of both general cognitive abilities and age.Methods A total of 25 FEP, 41 CHR, and 44 HC subjects matched for age participated in this study. RMET performance scores were compared across the groups using analysis of variance with sex and intelligence quotient as covariates. Exploratory Pearson’s correlation analyses were performed to reveal the potential relationships of RMET scores with clinical symptom severity in the FEP and CHR groups.Results RMET performance scores were significantly lower among FEP and CHR participants than among HCs. FEP patients and CHR subjects showed comparable RMET performance scores. RMET scores were negatively correlated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) positive symptom subscale scores in the FEP patients. No significant correlation was identified between RMET scores and other clinical scale scores.Conclusion Impaired RMET performance is present from the risk stage of psychosis, which might be related to positive symptom severity in early psychosis. Longitudinal studies are necessary to confirm the stability of complex emotion recognition impairments and their relationship with social functioning in early psychosis patients.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Sabaroedin ◽  
Adeel Razi ◽  
Sidhant Chopra ◽  
Nancy Tran ◽  
Andrii Pozaruk ◽  
...  

Dysfunction of fronto-striato-thalamic (FST) circuits is thought to contribute to dopaminergic dysfunction and symptom onset in psychosis, but it remains unclear whether this dysfunction is driven by aberrant bottom-up subcortical signaling or impaired top-down cortical regulation. Here, we used spectral dynamic causal modelling (DCM) of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to characterize the effective connectivity of dorsal and ventral FST circuits in a sample of 46 antipsychotic-naive first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and 23 controls and an independent sample of 36 patients with established schizophrenia (SCZ) patients and 100 controls. We found that midbrain and thalamic connectivity were implicated across both patient groups. Dysconnectivity in FEP patients was mainly restricted to the subcortex, with positive symptom severity being associated with midbrain connectivity. Dysconnectivity between the cortex and subcortical systems was only apparent in SCZ patients. In another independent sample of 33 healthy individuals who underwent concurrent fMRI and [18F]DOPA positron emission tomography, we found that striatal dopamine synthesis capacity was associated with the effective connectivity of nigrostriatal and striatothalamic pathways, implicating similar circuits as those associated with psychotic symptom severity in patients. Our findings thus indicate that subcortical dysconnectivity is salient in the early stages of psychosis, that cortical dysfunction may emerge later in the illness, and that nigrostriatal and striatothalamic signaling are closely related to striatal dopamine synthesis capacity, which is a robust risk marker for psychosis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (03) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Grover ◽  
Swapnajeet Sahoo ◽  
Anjumoni Rabha ◽  
Raman Koirala

AbstractElectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was initially used for the treatment of schizophrenia, but over the years with the advent of antipsychotics, its use in schizophrenia has been limited. Treatment guidelines vary in their recommendations for the use of ECT in schizophrenia. The usual indications of its use among patients with schizophrenia include treatment resistance, to augment pharmacotherapy, to manage catatonia, suicidal behaviour, severe agitation and clozapine-resistant schizophrenia. Available literature, including meta-analysis and systematic reviews, suggest that ECT is a safe and effective treatment in patients with schizophrenia. However, despite the available evidence, it is highly underutilised and is often used as one of the last resort among patients with schizophrenia. This review focuses on the indications of use of ECT in schizophrenia, studies evaluating its effectiveness, efficacy in certain special situations like first episode schizophrenia, adolescents, catatonia etc., predictors of response to ECT in schizophrenia and influence of various ECT-related parameters on efficacy/effectiveness among patients with schizophrenia. From the review, it can be concluded that ECT is not only is beneficial as an augmenting strategy in treatment-resistant schizophrenia but also can be used effectively in patients with schizophrenia in various other situations.


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