Niacin sensitivity in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, their 1st Degree Relatives and Healthy Controls

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1501-1501
Author(s):  
M. Schloegelhofer ◽  
N. Mossaheb ◽  
R. Kaufmann ◽  
T. Aninilkumparambil ◽  
A. Gold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phospholipid Metabolism ◽  
Skin Tests ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
First Degree Relatives ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Syndrome Scale ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Negative Syndrome

IntroductionSchizophrenia has often been associated with a reduced skin flush response to niacin. Blunted response suggests potential disturbance in phospholipid metabolism.ObjectivesWe performed niacin skin tests in patients with schizophrenia, their first-degree relatives and healthy controls.AimsTo examine possible differences in skin flush response to niacin.MethodsWe examined 51 patients (female 49%, age 33.1 years, SD 11), with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, 51 matched healthy controls (female 49%, age 33 years, SD 12.1), and 21 first-degree relatives (female 61,9%, age 49,5 years, SD 17,6, one affected, others non-affected). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Mini International Neuropsychiatrie Interview were used to assess psychopathology and diagnosis, respectively. The non-invasive niacin skin flush test was used to assess vasodilatative reaction to four different concentrations of niacin on the forearms of subjects.ResultsWe found no differences in total scores on the niacin skin flush test between the three groups (p = 0.774). Mean scores were 60.27 (SD 14.2) in healthy controls, 58.84 (SD 10.2) in patients and 58.48 (SD 9.4) in first-degree relatives.ConclusionContrary to our expectations we did not find a significantly blunted niacin skin flush reaction in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders compared to healthy controls or 1st degree relatives.

Sex-related differences in smell identification in patients with schizophrenia, their first-degree relatives and matched healthy controls

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1416-1416
Author(s):  
R.M. Kaufmann ◽  
N. Mossaheb ◽  
M. Schlögelhofer ◽  
T. Aninilkumparambil ◽  
A. Gold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
University Of Pennsylvania ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
First Degree Relatives ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Syndrome Scale ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
The University ◽  
Negative Syndrome ◽  
Smell Identification

IntroductionSex-related differences in smell identification have been shown in healthy subjects, however, in patients with schizophrenia these findings are still controversial.ObjectivesWe analyzed sex-related differences with respect to smell identification in patients with schizophrenia, their first-degree relatives and healthy controls.AimsTo assess possible sex-related differences in smell identification.MethodsThe sample consisted of 51 patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (49% female; mean age 33.1 years; SD: 11), 21 first-degree relatives (61.9% female, age 49.5 years, SD 17.6, one affected, others non-affected) ; mean age 49.5 years; SD: 17.6) and 51 matched healthy controls (49% female; mean age 33 years; SD: 12.1). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) were used to assess psychopathology and diagnosis, respectively. The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), a standardized, multiple- and forced-choice scratch- and sniff test consisting of 40 items, was administered to all subjects.ResultsWe found no significant differences in smell identification between the three groups (p = 0.182). Also, the female and male subgroups did not differ significantly in smell identification (p = 0.105, p = 0.387, respectively). The mean UPSIT scores were 34.4 (SD: 4.1) for healthy women (males: 33.2; SD: 3.5), 32.0 (SD: 5.1) for women with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (males: 32.5; SD: 4.4), and 34.5 (SD: 2.6) for female first-degree relatives (males: 30.5; SD: 2.8).ConclusionWe found neither significant differences in smell identification in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, their first-degree relatives or healthy controls, nor sex-related differences.

scholarly journals Anomalies of Imagination, Self-Disorders, and Schizophrenia Spectrum Psychopathology: A Network Analysis

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Rosén Rasmussen ◽  
Andrea Raballo ◽  
Antonio Preti ◽  
Ditte Sæbye ◽  
Josef Parnas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Schizotypal Personality ◽  
Canonical State ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Syndrome Scale ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Negative Syndrome

BackgroundAnomalies of imagination encompass disturbances of the basic experiential structure of fantasies and imagery that can be explored in a semi-structured way with the Examination of Anomalous Fantasy and Imagination (EAFI). We aimed (1) to examine the distribution of anomalies of imagination among different diagnostic groups and a group of healthy controls, and (2) to examine their relation with disorders of basic self, perceptual disturbances and canonical state psychopathology of the schizophrenia-spectrum (positive, negative and general symptoms).MethodsThe 81 participants included patients with schizophrenia or other non-affective psychosis (N = 32), schizotypal personality disorder (N = 15) or other mental illness (N = 16) and healthy controls (N = 18). The assessment encompassed EAFI, Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE), parts of Bonn Scale for the Assessment of Basic Symptoms (BSABS) and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). For network analysis, the associations of EAFI with the other psychopathological variables were tested by Pearson's correlation coefficient and graphically represented using multidimensional clustering. Comparisons between correlations in the network were tested with Steiger's test.ResultsAnomalies of imagination aggregated significantly in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders compared to other mental illness and healthy controls with no difference between schizophrenia and schizotypal disorder. In the network analysis, anomalies of imagination were closely inter-connected with self-disorders. Although, the anomalies of imagination correlated moderately with perceptual disturbance and positive, negative and general state symptomatology, these dimensions aggregated separately and relatively distant in the network.ConclusionsThe results support that anomalies of imagination are highly characteristic of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and closely related to self-disorders.

A tri-ethnic examination of symptom expression on the positive and negative syndrome scale in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 259-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Concepcion Barrio ◽  
Ann-Marie Yamada ◽  
Hazel Atuel ◽  
Richard L Hough ◽  
Simon Yee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Symptom Expression ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Syndrome Scale ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Negative Syndrome

Association of deficits in smell identification, social and basic cognition in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, their first-degree relatives and matched healthy controls

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1458-1458
Author(s):  
N. Mossaheb ◽  
M. Schloegelhofer ◽  
R.M. Kaufmann ◽  
T. Aninilkumparambil ◽  
A. Gold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Expressed Emotion ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Female Age ◽  
First Degree Relatives ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Smell Identification

IntroductionAssociations between smell identification deficits (SID) and impairments in basic cognitive domains have been shown in patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.ObjectivesWe analyzed social and basic cognitive deficits and SID.AimsTo assess differences in affective decision making tasks in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, their 1st degree relatives and healthy controls. Methods: We examined 51 patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (49% female, age 33.1 years, SD 11), 21 first-degree relatives (61.9% female, age 49.5 years, SD 17.6, one affected, others non-affected) and 51 matched healthy controls (49% female, age 33 years, SD 12.1). Psychopathology was evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Subjects were administered the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), the Facially Expressed Emotion Labelling (FEEL) test, the spatial span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) and the Mehrfachwahl-Wortschatz Test (MWT-B).ResultsPatients, controls and 1st degree relatives differed in age (p = 0.000), WMS-R (p = 0.000) and FEEL scores (p = 0.007). In healthy controls, patients and 1st degree relatives FEEL correlated with age (p = 0.005, p = 0.003, p = 0.004, respectively). In patients FEEL also correlated with MWT-B (p = 0.000), UPSIT (p = 0.000) and PANSS negative scores (p = 0.016); furthermore, UPSIT correlated with MWT-B (p = 0.001). In 1st degree relatives age correlated with WMS-R (p = 0.04) and FEEL (p = 0.004), both of which inter-correlated (p = 0.006).ConclusionWe found that SID, basic and social cognition, i.e. affective decision-making processes, inter-correlate in patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and are partly under the influence of negative symptoms. Some of these relationships can also be seen in 1st degree relatives of patients.

scholarly journals T158. NO ALTERATION OF PITUTARY VOLUME IN PATIENTS WITH FIRST-EPISODE SCHIZPHRENIA BUT A TREND OF ENLARGEMENT IN NON-PSYCHOTIC FIRST-DEGREE RELATIVES

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S291-S291
Author(s):  
Min-yi Chu ◽  
Simon S Y Lui ◽  
Karen S Y Hung ◽  
P C Sham ◽  
Henry K F Mak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Duration Of Treatment ◽  
First Degree Relatives ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
First Episode Schizophrenia

Abstract Background There is growing evidence suggesting that the abnormal pituitary volume (PV) may be an essential deficit in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and PV may change depending on the stage of the illness. However, previous studies assessing PV in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, especially in ultra-high risk individuals, were confounding. The present study aimed to assess whether there would be alteration of the PV in patients with first-episode schizophrenia and their non-affected first-degree relatives. Methods This study recruited 147 subjects, including subjects with 62 first-episode schizophrenia (31 man, 31 female), 25 non-psychotic first-degree relatives (11 male, 14 female), and 60 healthy controls (30 male, 30 female). All of them underwent a T1 weighted image magnetic resonance imaging using 3T MRI Scanner (Siemens, Germany). All volumes were examined with the 3D-Slicer 4.10.1 (Surgical Planning Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA; http://www. slicer.org/). The PV was traced in all coronal slices with well-defied boundaries (such as diaphragma sellae (superiorly), the sphenoid sinus (inferiorly), the cavernous sinuses(bilaterally)). The infundibular stalk was excluded while the bright posterior pituitary was included. All images were tranced manually by a trained rater who was blind to the participants’ group assignment. In a random subset of 24 cases, both the inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient r=0.916, p<0.001) and the intra-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient r=0.924 p<0.001) were high. We conducted MANCOVA with gender, and whole brain volumes (WBV) as covariates to compare the PV among the groups. Results We found no significant differences in gender ratio, age, and WBV (p>0.05) among the three groups, but patients with first-episode schizophrenia showed shorter length of education than healthy controls (p<0.001). As expected, we found that male participants in general (Mean ± SD: 486.85 ± 100.24) exhibited a prominently smaller PV than female participants (Mean ± SD: 562.13 ± 102.90) after controlling for WBV (t=25.087, p<0.001). Findings from MANCOVA analysis showed that although first-episode schizophrenia patients (Mean ± SD: 523.81 ± 116.41) and healthy controls (Mean ± SD: 513.17 ± 103.57) showed no significant difference in PV (F=0.581, p=0.447), there was a trend of statistical significance in their non-psychotic first-degree relatives (Mean ± SD: 557.85 ± 93.58) compared with healthy controls (F=3.334, p=0.072). We also found a negative correlation between the duration of treatment and PV in female schizophrenia patients (r=-0.398, p=0.029), whose mean duration of treatment was 4.71 months (SD=2.18 months). No significant correlation was observed in in male patients. Discussion Our findings found no alteration of PV in first-episode schizophrenia patients but a trend of enlargement was observed in their non-psychotic first-degree relatives. Moreover, female schizophrenia patients with longer duration of treatment exhibited smaller PV. These findings suggested that the enlarged PV might be an early detection signal for individuals with potentially high risk of developing into schizophrenia, and such an enlargement of PV might be responsive to antipsychotic medications.

scholarly journals A Network of Psychopathological, Cognitive, and Motor Symptoms in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Melo Moura ◽  
Geeske van Rooijen ◽  
Frederike Schirmbeck ◽  
Hanneke Wigman ◽  
Luís Madeira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Total Sample ◽  
Motor Symptoms ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Network Communities ◽  
Syndrome Scale ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Negative Syndrome ◽  
Core Features

Abstract Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) are complex syndromes involving psychopathological, cognitive, and also motor symptoms as core features. A better understanding of how these symptoms mutually impact each other could translate into diagnostic, prognostic, and, eventually, treatment advancements. The present study aimed to: (1) estimate a network model of psychopathological, cognitive, and motor symptoms in SSD; (2) detect communities and explore the connectivity and relative importance of variables within the network; and (3) explore differences in subsample networks according to remission status. A sample of 1007 patients from a multisite cohort study was included in the analysis. We estimated a network of 43 nodes, including all the items from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, a cognitive assessment battery and clinical ratings of extrapyramidal symptoms. Methodologies specific to network analysis were employed to address the study’s aims. The estimated network for the total sample was densely interconnected and organized into 7 communities. Nodes related to insight, abstraction capacity, attention, and suspiciousness were the main bridges between network communities. The estimated network for the subgroup of patients in remission showed a sparser density and a different structure compared to the network of nonremitted patients. In conclusion, the present study conveys a detailed characterization of the interrelations between a set of core clinical elements of SSD. These results provide potential novel clues for clinical assessment and intervention.

scholarly journals T194. SUBJECTIVE ANOMALIES OF IMAGINATION AGGREGATE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA-SPECTRUM DISORDERS AND ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DISORDERS OF BASIC SELF

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S305-S305
Author(s):  
Andreas Rosén Rasmussen ◽  
Josef Parnas
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Multivariate Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Schizotypal Disorder

Abstract Background Imagination is the formation of ideas or images of something known not to be present to the senses. Clinical psychopathology has few notions addressing this domain apart from obsession and rumination. Some classic psychopathological notions such as Jaspers’ concept of pseudohallucination or the pseudo-obsession are relevant to this area. In a recent research project, informed by contemporary philosophy of mind and phenomenology, we have developed novel concepts targeting subjective disturbances of imagination and fantasy life with a focus on the schizophrenia-spectrum. Patients describe a spatialization of images, i.e., stable imagery with an articulated spatial structure being liable to inspection ‘from afar in the mind’ and often undergoing an autonomous development independently of the will of the patient (‘like watching a movie in the head’). Other notions address tacit, non-psychotic erosions of the demarcation of fantasy life from perception and memory. A broad range of ideations (such as ‘daydreams’, ‘fears’, anticipations, intrusions, paranoid or suicidal ideation) may involve such structural disturbances of experience. Here, we present data from the first, cross-sectional study investigating the distribution of anomalies of imagination in different diagnostic groups and healthy controls as well as their association with positive symptoms, negative symptoms and disorders of basic selfhood. Methods The sample (N=81) included in- and outpatients with schizophrenia or another non-affective psychosis (N=32), outpatients with schizotypal disorder (N=15) or other mental illness (N=16) and healthy controls (N=18). The sample was 70% female with mean age 29.9 (SD 6.8; range 18–42) years. Anomalies of imagination were assessed with the Examination of anomalous fantasy and imagination (EAFI), which is an instrument recently developed in our group for a semi-structured interview exploring these experiences. The EAFI has shown very good reliability with average Kappa of 0.84. Disorders of basic self were assessed with the Examination of anomalous self experience (EASE) and positive, negative and general symptoms with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results Anomalies of imagination aggregated significantly (p < 0.000, Kruskall-Wallis test) in the schizophrenia-spectrum disorders compared to other mental illness with no significant difference between schizophrenia and schizotypal disorder. The group of healthy controls very rarely reported these anomalies and scored significantly lower (p < 0.000) than all diagnostic groups. In multivariate linear regression analysis (R2 = 0.66), EAFI score was significantly associated with EASE score (β = 0.62, p < 0.000), PANSS positive (β = 0.34, p = 0.01) and PANSS negative (β = 0.29, p = 0.02), but not PANSS general score (β = -0.29, p = 0.07). More than 79% of the schizophrenia-spectrum patients retrospectively reported the onset of these experiences to adolescence or earlier. Discussion The results of this cross-sectional study support that the subjective anomalies of imagination, targeted with the EAFI, are associated with the schizophrenia-spectrum. The association with disorders of basic self, which has been shown to have trait-like characteristics and to predict transition to schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, may reflect that the anomalies of imagination share a common experiential core-structure with self disorders. We suggest that the anomalies of imagination belong to an early onset level of psychopathology in the schizophrenia-spectrum and may have a relevance for differential diagnosis and early detection.

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