Developing an International Standard Set of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures for Psychotic Disorders.

Objective: The objective of this project was to develop a set of patient-reported outcome measures for adolescents and adults who meet criteria for a psychotic disorder.

Methods: A research team and an international consensus working group, including service users, clinicians, and researchers, worked together in an iterative process by using a modified Delphi consensus technique that included videoconferencing calls, online surveys, and focus groups. The research team conducted systematic literature searches to identify outcomes, outcome measures, and risk adjustment factors.

Improving Access to psychological therapies for people with severe mental illness (IAPT-SMI): Lessons from the South London and Maudsley psychosis demonstration site.

Implementation of evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) remains low in routine services. The United Kingdom Improving Access to Psychological Therapies for people with Severe Mental Illness (IAPT-SMI) initiative aimed to address this issue. The project evaluated whether existing services could improve access to CBTp and demonstrate effectiveness using a systematic approach to therapy provision and outcome monitoring (in a similar way to the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) model for people with anxiety and depression).

The Cost-Effectiveness of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Programme in Severe Mental Illness: A Decision Analytical Model Using Routine Data.

This is the first site level economic evaluation of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme for severe mental illness (IAPT-SMI) that is funded by NHS England. It also aims to illustrate the challenges involved in evaluations based on routine data with low internal validity. Six IAPT-SMI pilot sites treated 1 of 2 clinical groups: (i) psychosis or bipolar disorder; (ii) personality disorder.

Improving access to psychological therapies (IAPT) for people with bipolar disorder: Summary of outcomes from the IAPT demonstration site.

Access to structured psychological therapy recommended for bipolar disorder (BD) is poor. The UK NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies initiative commissioned a demonstration site for BD to explore the outcomes of routine delivery of psychological therapy in clinical practice, which this report summarises. All clinically diagnosed patients with BD who wanted a psychological intervention and were not in acute mood episode were eligible.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for antipsychotic-free schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Does therapy dose influence outcome?

This study investigated the effect of "dose" and the components of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on treatment effects. It is a secondary analysis of the ACTION (Assessment of Cognitive Therapy Instead of Neuroleptics) trial which investigated CBT for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders that chose not to take antipsychotic medication. Using instrumental variable methods, we found a "dose-response" such that each CBT session attended, reduced the primary outcome measure (the PANSS total score) by approximately 0.

Self-labelling and stigma as predictors of attitudes towards help-seeking among people at risk of psychosis: 1-year follow-up.

Mental health service use is helpful but rare among young people at risk of psychosis. The label and stigma associated with mental illness may affect attitudes towards help-seeking. We examined 67 individuals at risk of psychosis over the course of 1 year.

Opportunities and challenges in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies for people with Severe Mental Illness (IAPT-SMI): evaluating the first operational year of the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) demonstration site for psychosis.

Despite its demonstrated clinical and economic effectiveness, access to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) in routine practice remains low. The UK National Health Service (NHS England) Improving Access to Psychological Therapies for people with Severe Mental Illness (IAPT-SMI) initiative aims to address this problem. We report 14-month outcomes for our psychosis demonstration site.

Cognitive therapy for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders not taking antipsychotic drugs: a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

Background: Antipsychotic drugs are usually the first line of treatment for schizophrenia; however, many patients refuse or discontinue their pharmacological treatment. We aimed to establish whether cognitive therapy was effective in reducing psychiatric symptoms in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who had chosen not to take antipsychotic drugs.

Methods: We did a single-blind randomised controlled trial at two UK centres between Feb 15, 2010, and May 30, 2013.

Associations of self-esteem, dysfunctional beliefs and coping style with depression in patients with schizophrenia: a preliminary survey.

Psychological models of depression in schizophrenia have proposed that cognitive structures (e.g., self-esteem, dysfunctional beliefs) may have a role in the development and maintenance of depression.

Outcomes post-discharge from an early intervention in psychosis service.

Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of an early intervention in psychosis (EIP) service on engagement and hospital bed usage, post-discharge. A secondary aim was to identify if there was a subgroup of patients with 'poor outcomes'.

Method: A naturalistic study comparing engagement and hospital bed day usage of individuals who received treatment from an EIP service (n = 75) with those who presented before the service was established (n = 113).

Identifying specific interpretations and use of safety behaviours in people with distressing visual hallucinations: an exploratory study.

Background: Visual hallucinations (VH) are a common experience and can be distressing and disabling, particularly for people suffering from psychotic illness. However, not everyone with visual hallucinations reports the experience to be distressing. Models of VH propose that appraisals of VH as a threat to wellbeing and the use of safety seeking behaviours help maintain the distress.

A preliminary exploration of predictors of outcome and cognitive mechanisms of change in cognitive behaviour therapy for psychosis in people not taking antipsychotic medication.

Background: Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in an open trial for people with psychotic disorders who have not been taking antipsychotic medication. There is little known about predictors of outcome in CBT for psychosis and even less about hypothesised mechanisms of change.

Method: 20 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders received CBT in an exploratory trial.

Cognitive therapy for people with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis not taking antipsychotic medication: an exploratory trial.

Background: Although antipsychotic medication is the first line of treatment for schizophrenia, many service users choose to refuse or discontinue their pharmacological treatment. Cognitive therapy (CT) has been shown to be effective when delivered in combination with antipsychotic medication, but has yet to be formally evaluated in its absence. This study evaluates CT for people with psychotic disorders who have not been taking antipsychotic medication for at least 6 months.

Characterization of a ViI-like phage specific to Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Phage vB_EcoM_CBA120 (CBA120), isolated against Escherichia coli O157:H7 from a cattle feedlot, is morphologically very similar to the classic phage ViI of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi. Until recently, little was known genetically or physiologically about the ViI-like phages, and none targeting E. coli have been described in the literature.

Naturally resident and exogenously applied T4-like and T5-like bacteriophages can reduce Escherichia coli O157:H7 levels in sheep guts.

In preparing sheep for an in vivo Escherichia coli O157:H7 eradication trial, we found that 20/39 members of a single flock were naturally colonized by O157:H7-infecting phages. Characterization showed these were all one phage type (subsequently named CEV2) infecting 15/16 O157:H7, 7/72 ECOR and common lab strains. Further characterization by PFGE (genome∼120 kb), restriction enzyme digest (DNA appears unmodified), receptor studies (FhuA but not TonB is required for infection) and sequencing (>95% nucleotide identity) showed it is a close relative of the classically studied coliphage T5.

Isolation and characterization of lytic bacteriophages against enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli.

Aims:  The objective of this study was to isolate, identify and characterize a collection of lytic bacteriophages capable of infecting enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) serotypes.

Methods And Results: Phages were isolated from dairy and cattle feedlot manure using E. coli O157, O26 and O111 strains as hosts.

What makes early intervention in psychosis services effective? A case study.

A number of studies have demonstrated that Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) services can produce improved outcomes for service users. However, the essential elements that produce these results remain elusive. This paper considers a number of hypotheses, with a particular focus on one service in the UK, which was designed according to policy guidance.

Evaluation of phage treatment as a strategy to reduce Salmonella populations in growing swine.

Salmonella is a foodborne pathogenic bacterium that causes human illnesses and morbidity and mortality in swine. Bacteriophages are viruses that prey on bacteria and are naturally found in many microbial environments, including the gut of food animals, and have been suggested as a potential intervention strategy to reduce Salmonella levels in the live animal. The present study was designed to determine if anti-Salmonella phages isolated from the feces of commercial finishing swine could reduce gastrointestinal populations of the foodborne pathogen Salmonella Typhimurium in artificially inoculated swine.

Molecular and physiological analysis of three Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages belonging to the "N4-like viruses".

We present a detailed analysis of the genome architecture, structural proteome and infection-related properties of three Pseudomonas phages, designated LUZ7, LIT1 and PEV2. These podoviruses encapsulate 72.5 to 74.

Occurrence of Salmonella-specific bacteriophages in swine feces collected from commercial farms.

Salmonella is one of the leading causes of human foodborne illness and is associated with swine production. Bacteriophages are naturally occurring viruses that prey on bacteria and have been suggested as a potential intervention strategy to reduce Salmonella levels in food animals on the farm and in the lairage period. If phages are to be used to improve food safety, then we must understand the incidence and natural ecology of both phages and their hosts in the intestinal environment.

Pervasive developmental disorder and early intervention in psychosis services: a survey of care coordinators' experiences.

Aim: To evaluate the experience of care coordinators encountering clients with co-morbid diagnoses or features of pervasive development disorder (PDD) in an Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) service.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a semi-structured face-to-face interview schedule.

Results: Thirty-three care coordinators were interviewed.

Predictors of outcome in brief cognitive behavior therapy for schizophrenia.

Antipsychotic medications, while effective, often leave patients with ongoing positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Guidelines recommend using cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) with this group. Clearly, mental health professionals require training and supervision to deliver CBT-based interventions.