Elevated 3T proton MRS glutamate levels associated with poor Continuous Performance Test (CPT-0X) scores and genetic risk for schizophrenia.

Glutamate was quantified by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in the medial frontal lobes of 15 adult siblings of individuals with schizophrenia (HR) and 14 healthy volunteers (HV), all of whom also completed a Continuous Performance Test (CPT). Subjects were free of psychopathology but the HR group showed greater variability in glutamate levels. After median stratification, the high glutamate group contained a larger proportion of HR than HV subjects and scored lower on the CPT.

Burden in adolescent children of parents with schizophrenia. The Edmonton High Risk Project.

Objective: Adolescent children of parents with schizophrenia are generally overlooked in studies of family burden. Few published data exist about this younger cohort compared to adult family members such as parents, spouses, and siblings. This pilot study aims to examine the types of burden described by adolescent children of parents with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

3-T proton MRS investigation of glutamate and glutamine in adolescents at high genetic risk for schizophrenia.

Objective: Glutamate and glutamine were examined in vivo in nonpsychotic adolescents at high genetic risk for schizophrenia by using 3-T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS).

Method: Spectra from the right medial frontal lobe of 20 adolescents who had a parent with schizophrenia (high-risk group; mean age=16.4 years) were compared with spectra obtained from adolescent offspring of parents with no history of schizophrenia (low-risk group; mean age=16.

Threshold 3: the feasibility of the Threshold Assessment Grid (TAG) for routine assessment of the severity of mental health problems.

Background: Evidence-based practice requires the development of measures which are suitable for everyday clinical use ('feasible'). There is no consensus as to how to establish feasibility.

Method: The feasibility of a new assessment - the Threshold Assessment Grid (TAG) - for use when making referrals to mental health services was tested by training mental health teams in using the TAG and other standardised assessments, asking referrers to ten mental health services in London also to complete a TAG, surveying TAG users, and evaluating a feedback meeting at which TAG data were presented.