Synthetic Cannabinoids and Its Association With Persistent Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Background Negative symptoms are an important unmet treatment need for schizophrenia. This study is a preliminary, open, single-arm trial of a novel hybrid intervention called mobile-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy for negative symptoms (mCBTn). Objective The primary aim was to test whether mCBTn was feasible and could reduce severity of the target mechanism, defeatist performance attitudes, which are associated with experiential negative symptoms and poor functioning in schizophrenia. Methods Participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (N=31) who met prospective criteria for persistent negative symptoms were enrolled. The blended intervention combines weekly in-person group therapy with a smartphone app called CBT2go. The app extended therapy group skills, including recovery goal setting, thought challenging, scheduling of pleasurable activities and social interactions, and pleasure-savoring interventions to modify defeatist attitudes and improve experiential negative symptoms. Results Retention was excellent (87% at 18 weeks), and severity of defeatist attitudes and experiential negative symptoms declined significantly in the mCBTn intervention with large effect sizes. Conclusions The findings suggest that mCBTn is a feasible and potentially effective treatment for experiential negative symptoms, if confirmed in a larger randomized controlled trial. The findings also provide support for the defeatist attitude model of experiential negative symptoms and suggest that blended technology-supported interventions such as mCBTn can strengthen and shorten intensive psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03179696; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03179696

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T123. PERSISTENT NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS IN FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS: PREVALENCE, PREDICTORS AND PROGNOSIS

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sby016.399 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. S163-S163 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Stephen Austin ◽

Carsten Hjorthøj ◽

Ole Mors ◽

Rikke Gry Secher ◽

Pia Jeppesen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Symptoms ◽

First Episode Psychosis ◽

First Episode ◽

Episode Psychosis ◽

Persistent Negative Symptoms

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One-year, low-dose neuroleptic study of in-patients with chronic schizophrenia characterised by persistent negative symptoms

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.171.6.564 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 171 (6) ◽

pp. 564-568 ◽

Cited By ~ 70

Author(s):

Jeremy C. Speller ◽

Thomas R. E. Barnes ◽

David A. Curson ◽

Christos Pantelis ◽

J. L. Alberts

Keyword(s):

Negative Symptoms ◽

Low Dose ◽

Chronic Schizophrenia ◽

Anticholinergic Medication ◽

Treatment Groups ◽

Substituted Benzamide ◽

One Year ◽

To Receive ◽

Persistent Negative Symptoms

BackgroundAmisulpride is a potent substituted benzamide antipsychotic drug claimed to improve the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, particularly at low dosage.MethodSixty long-term in-patients with schizophrenia and selected for predominant negative symptoms were randomised to receive either haloperidol or amisulpride. Over a year there was systematic dose reduction, as symptoms allowed.ResultsThere were no significant differences between the treatment groups in the proportion receiving low-dose treatment, the control of positive symptoms, or ratings of social behaviour, side-effects or tardive dyskinesia. For negative symptoms, there were consistent but non-significant trends in favour of amisulpride. The amisulpride patients required significantly less anticholinergic medication.ConclusionsIn chronically-hospitalised in-patients with schizophrenia characterised by persistent negative symptoms, amisulpride was a well-tolerated maintenance antipsychotic medication. The drug had only a limited effect in reducing negative symptoms, which were relatively stable, enduring phenomena in this sample, despite dosage reduction.

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