scholarly journals Effectiveness of a low support, remotely accessible, cognitive remediation training programme for chronic psychosis: cognitive, functional and cortical outcomes from a single blind randomised controlled trial

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 751-764 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Donohoe ◽  
R. Dillon ◽  
A. Hargreaves ◽  
O. Mothersill ◽  
M. Castorina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Cognitive Remediation ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Placebo Condition ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Single Blind

BackgroundCognitive remediation (CR) training has emerged as a promising approach to improving cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and related psychosis. The limited availability of psychological services for psychosis is a major barrier to accessing this intervention however. This study investigated the effectiveness of a low support, remotely accessible, computerised working memory (WM) training programme in patients with psychosis.MethodsNinety patients were enrolled into a single blind randomised controlled trial of CR. Effectiveness of the intervention was assessed in terms of neuropsychological performance, social and occupational function, and functional MRI 2 weeks post-intervention, with neuropsychological and social function again assessed 3–6 months post-treatment.ResultsPatients who completed the intervention showed significant gains in both neuropsychological function (measured using both untrained WM and episodic task performance, and a measure of performance IQ), and social function at both 2-week follow-up and 3–6-month follow-up timepoints. Furthermore, patients who completed MRI scanning showed improved resting state functional connectivity relative to patients in the placebo condition.ConclusionsCR training has already been shown to improve cognitive and social function in patient with psychosis. This study demonstrates that, at least for some chronic but stable outpatients, a low support treatment was associated with gains that were comparable with those reported for CR delivered entirely on a 1:1 basis. We conclude that CR has potential to be delivered even in services in which psychological supports for patients with psychosis are limited.

scholarly journals Increasing dietary fibre intake in healthy adults using personalised dietary advice compared with general advice: a single-blind randomised controlled trial

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Iris Rijnaarts ◽  
Nicole M de Roos ◽  
Taojun Wang ◽  
Erwin G Zoetendal ◽  
Jan Top ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Dietary Fibre ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Healthy Adults ◽  
Dietary Advice ◽  
Fibre Intake ◽  
Dietary Fibre Intake ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Single Blind

Abstract Objective: A high-fibre diet is associated with a lower risk for diseases. However, few adults meet the dietary fibre recommendation. Therefore, the effects and acceptance of an algorithm-generated personalised dietary advice (PDA) compared with general advice (GA) on fibre intake were investigated. Design: A 6-week, single-blind randomised controlled trial with a 3-month follow-up. Setting: PDA was based on habitual intake and provided fibre-rich alternatives using a website; GA contained brochures. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline, week 1, week 6 and 3-month follow-up. Both groups evaluated their advice at week 6. All participants had access to PDA from week 7 until 3-month follow-up. Participants: Two groups of healthy adults: PDA (n 34) and GA (n 47). For 3-month follow-up analysis, participants were re-divided into visitors (n 52) and non-visitors (n 26) of the PDA. Results: At week 6, energy intake remained stable in both groups, but fibre intake per 1000 kcal increased non-significantly in both groups (PDA = Δ0·5 ± 2·8; GA = Δ0·8 ± 3·1, P = 0·128). Importantly, a significantly higher percentage of PDA participants adhered to the recommendation compared with week 1 (PDA = 21 % increase; GA = 4 % increase, P ≤ 0·001). PDA participants evaluated the advice significantly better compared with GA participants. At 3-month follow-up, fibre intake increased compared with baseline (visitors = Δ2·2 ± 2·6, P < 0·001; non-visitors = Δ1·5 ± 1·9, P = 0·001), but was insignificantly different between groups. Visitors had a decrease and non-visitors had an increase in energy intake (visitors =Δ − 132 ± 525; non-visitors = Δ109 ± 507, P = 0·055). Conclusions: The algorithm-generated PDA was well accepted and stimulated adherence to the recommendations more than GA, indicating to be a suitable and cost-efficient method for improving dietary fibre intake in healthy adults.

A single-blind, randomised controlled trial on the effects of lithium and quetiapine monotherapy on the trajectory of cognitive functioning in first episode mania: A 12-month follow-up study

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 20-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Daglas ◽  
S.M. Cotton ◽  
K. Allott ◽  
M. Yücel ◽  
C.A. Macneil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Lithium Treatment ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Single Blind

AbstractBackgroundCognitive deficits have been reported during the early stages of bipolar disorder; however, the role of medication on such deficits remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of lithium and quetiapine monotherapy on cognitive performance in people following first episode mania.MethodsThe design was a single-blind, randomised controlled trial on a cohort of 61 participants following first episode mania. Participants received either lithium or quetiapine monotherapy as maintenance treatment over a 12-month follow-up period. The groups were compared on performance outcomes using an extensive cognitive assessment battery conducted at baseline, month 3 and month 12 follow-up time-points.ResultsThere was a significant interaction between group and time in phonemic fluency at the 3-month and 12-month endpoints, reflecting greater improvements in performance in lithium-treated participants relative to quetiapine-treated participants. After controlling for multiple comparisons, there were no other significant interactions between group and time for other measures of cognition.ConclusionAlthough the effects of lithium and quetiapine treatment were similar for most cognitive domains, the findings imply that early initiation of lithium treatment may benefit the trajectory of cognition, specifically verbal fluency in young people with bipolar disorder. Given that cognition is a major symptomatic domain of bipolar disorder and has substantive effects on general functioning, the ability to influence the trajectory of cognitive change is of considerable clinical importance.

Who gets evidence-based therapy for psychosis in the six months following a psychiatric hospital admission? Follow-up data from an inpatient randomised controlled trial

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Charlotte Jacobsen ◽  
Gemma Taylor ◽  
Maria Stefanova
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Major Barrier ◽  
Psychological Therapies ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Evidence Based Therapy ◽  
Minority Ethnic

A major barrier to clinicians referring service users with psychosis for psychological therapies is the belief that they will not engage. We investigated therapy receipt after discharge, in a sample of service users who had already demonstrated willingness to engage in psychological therapy during an inpatient admission. We found only one-third of service users (33%; 16/48) had received at least 1 session of evidence-based therapy at 6-month follow-up after discharge. We found that therapy receipt was more common for service users with i) lower delusional distress at discharge, ii) Black or minority ethnic (BME) background, and iii) discharged to an Early Intervention (EI) service.

scholarly journals TheBrain Gamesstudy: protocol for a randomised controlled trial of computerised cognitive training for preventing mental illness in adolescents with high-risk personality styles

BMJ Open ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. e017721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Mewton ◽  
Antoinette Hodge ◽  
Nicola Gates ◽  
Rachel Visontay ◽  
Maree Teesson
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Randomised Controlled

IntroductionA broad range of mental disorders are now understood as aberrations of normal adolescent brain development. In both adolescents and adults, executive dysfunction has been implicated across a range of mental illnesses, and enhancing executive functioning may prove to be a useful prevention strategy for adolescents at risk for a range of psychopathology.Methods and analysisThis study will consist of a double-blind, randomised controlled trial with a 12-month follow-up period. Participants will consist of 200 people aged 16–24 years who are at risk for a range of mental disorders based on personality risk factors, but have not experienced a lifetime mental illness as determined by a structured diagnostic interview. Participants will be randomly allocated to either an intervention group who complete an online cognitive training programme specifically targeting executive functioning ability or a control group who complete an online cognitive training programme that has limited executive functioning training potential. Superiority of the executive functioning training programme compared with the control training programme will be assessed at baseline, post-training and at 3-month, 6-month and 12-month follow-up. All assessments will be conducted online. The primary outcome of the study will be general psychopathology as measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Secondary outcomes will include executive functioning ability, day-to-day functioning and alcohol consumption. All analyses will be undertaken using mixed-model repeated measures analysis of variance with planned contrasts.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained from the University of New South Wales Human Research Ethics Committee (HC15094). Results of the trial immediately post-treatment and at 12 months follow-up will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberACTRN12616000127404; Pre-results.

scholarly journals Evaluation of an Ultrasound-Guided Palpation Intervention for Palpation Skill Training: A Single-Blind, Parallel Group, Randomised Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Kitagawa ◽  
Yuma Aoki ◽  
Hotaka Sugimoto ◽  
Natsumi Ozaki
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Parallel Group ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Single Blind

Abstract Although there are increasing reports on the usefulness of sonopalpation with ultrasound imaging, many previous studies have reported interventions without a control group. This single-blind, parallel group randomised controlled trial aimed to determine whether educational instruction with sonopalpation for medical students has a superior effect on skill improvement than traditional instruction without ultrasonography. Twenty-nine medical students participated in the study and were randomised using block randomisation into an ultrasound imaging group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 14). Then, they underwent three training sessions focusing on the shoulder joint. Participants underwent a scoring assessment of their palpation skills at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up 3 months after training. The raters were blinded to the subjects’ group. The Friedman and Mann–Whitney U tests were used for data analysis. The intervention group showed a significant increase in scores at post-intervention and at the 3-month follow-up when compared with the pre-intervention group (p < 0.05); the effect sizes were large (0.849 and 0.849, respectively). A comparison of the scores at different time points after the intervention at the 3-month follow-up revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups. Education using ultrasound images may improve the sonopalpation skills of medical students.

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