Sleep disturbances are a common yet often overlooked symptom of psychosis that can drastically affect the quality of life and well-being of those living with the condition. Sleep disorders are common in people diagnosed with schizophrenia and have significant negative effects on the clinical course of the illness and the functional outcomes and quality of life of patients. There is a limited number of studies addressing this question in first-episode psychosis (FEP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe theme, strength, and duration of a delusion are considered important in distinguishing one psychosis of old age from another. Research results, however, are mostly based on studies conducted on one form of psychosis, namely schizophrenia. The aim of this hypothesis-driven narrative review is to gather clinically important information about the psychosis identified as delusional disorder (DD), as it affects persons of senior age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough blockade of dopamine receptors D2 and D3 appears to be the main mechanism of antipsychotic action, treatment response variability calls for an examination of other biological systems. Our aim is to systematically review reports of treatment response in delusional disorder (DD) in order to help determine its biological bases. Computerized searches of ClinicalTrials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: While gender differences in antipsychotic response have been recognized, the potential role of menopause in changing drug efficacy and clinical outcome in schizophrenia related disorders has been understudied. We aimed to review the relevant literature to test whether optimizing menopausal and post-menopausal treatment and addressing specific health needs of this stage in life will improve outcome.
Methods: Non-systematic narrative review using the PubMed database (1900-July 2021) focusing on randomized controlled trial results addressing our question.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
August 2020
Women with schizophrenia show sex-specific health needs that differ according to stage of life. The aim of this narrative review is to resolve important questions concerning the treatment of women with schizophrenia at different periods of their life-paying special attention to reproductive and post-reproductive stages. Review results suggest that menstrual cycle-dependent treatments may be a useful option for many women and that recommendations re contraceptive options need always to be part of care provision.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Cognitive deficits are a cause of functional disability in psychotic disorders. Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) might be applied to improve these deficits. We conducted a pilot study to explore whether thyroid hormones might predict the response to CRT in patients with recent-onset psychosis (ROP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDelusional disorder (DD) has been traditionally considered a relatively rare and treatment-resistant psychotic disorder. In the last decade, increasing attention has focused on therapeutic outcomes of individuals affected by this disorder. The aim of this paper is to provide a synthesis of the literature addressing two very important questions arising from DD research: (1) For which patients with DD do antipsychotic medications work best (the moderators of response); and (2) What variables best explain the relationship between such treatments and their effectiveness (the mediators of response).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF