Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ): Rationale and Study Design of the Largest Global Prospective Cohort Study of Clinical High Risk for Psychosis.

This article describes the rationale, aims, and methodology of the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ). This is the largest international collaboration to date that will develop algorithms to predict trajectories and outcomes of individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis and to advance the development and use of novel pharmacological interventions for CHR individuals. We present a description of the participating research networks and the data processing analysis and coordination center, their processes for data harmonization across 43 sites from 13 participating countries (recruitment across North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and South America), data flow and quality assessment processes, data analyses, and the transfer of data to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Data Archive (NDA) for use by the research community.

Vascular Schizophrenia-like Psychosis in Older Adults.

Background: The aims of this study were to analyze prevalence and severity of vascular risk factors in older patients referred to our clinic due to onset of Very Late-Onset Schizophrenia-Like Psychosis (VLOSLP) and to create a specific phenotype based on pathophysiological insight rather than age of onset.

Methods: In a longitudinal study, 103 (M = 39, F = 64; mean age of 80.32 ± 7.

CT-Detected MTA Score Related to Disability and Behavior in Older People with Cognitive Impairment.

Our study aims to investigate the relationship between medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) score, assessed by computed tomography (CT) scans, and functional impairment, cognitive deficit, and psycho-behavioral disorder severity. Overall, 239 (M = 92, F = 147; mean age of 79.3 ± 6.

Relationship of Homocysteine Plasma Levels with Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, Vascular Dementia, Psychobehavioral, and Functional Complications.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) may be a vascular disorder with neurodegenerative consequences opening possibility of preventing AD by targeting vascular risk factors including homocysteine.

Objective: The study aims were to assess homocysteine distribution in different forms and severity of cognitive impairment (CogI) [mild cognitive impairment (MCI), probable AD (Prob-AD), possible AD (Poss-AD), and vascular dementia (VaD)] and in NoCogI, and to estimate possible association between hyperhomocysteinemia levels with functional deficit severity and psychobehavioral complications.

Methods: In total, 929 (M = 366, F = 563; mean age of 72.

[Prevalence of malnutrition among institutionalized elderly subjects in Trieste, Northen Italy)].

Aim: to evaluate nutritional status in a representative sample of guests of residential homes for the elderly using the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA, Nestlè®) and compare results with data from literature.

Design: cross-sectional study of prevalence using cluster sampling in two stages.

Setting And Participants: the investigation focused on a sample of 420 guests of 37 facilities for the elderly, out of 2,967 residents in 89 facilities in the province of Trieste.

Validation of a test of road law and road craft knowledge with older or functionally impaired drivers.

Objective: The number of functionally impaired drivers being assessed is increasing the urgency to develop a standardized off-road driver assessment battery. We examined the validity of the Road Law and Road Craft Test (RLRCT) and a version of the Melbourne Slide Test to determine whether they should be included in the Occupational Therapy Driver Off-Road Assessment (OT-DORA) battery, which is under development.

Method: We conducted a file audit of 118 data sets with individual item scores for the RLRCT and Melbourne Slide Test.

Assessing sleep during pregnancy: a study across two time points examining the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and associations with depressive symptoms.

Background And Purpose: Sleep quality seems to be an antecedent to depressive symptoms during pregnancy. We sought to 1) examine the psychometrics of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in pregnancy; 2) examine whether sleep quality predicted increases in depressive symptoms; and 3) compare PSQI scores across 3 or 2 levels of depressive symptoms.

Methods: Each of the 252 participants completed the Beck Depression Inventory (short form) and a sleep quality measure at mid and late pregnancy.

The episodic buffer and learning in early Alzheimer's disease.

The role of working memory, specifically the episodic buffer, in the learning performance of patients with very mild (n = 18) and mild (n = 12) Alzheimer's disease as compared with healthy older adults (n = 29) was investigated using a series of word-lists that were manipulated (clustered, unclustered) to explore the impact of strategic organizational skills under varying attention conditions (full, divided). Results indicated that the learning performance for all three groups under full attention was better than that under divided attention, but only for the clustered word-lists. Moreover, in contrast to the mild Alzheimer's disease group, both the healthy older controls and the very mild Alzheimer's disease group demonstrated better performance on clustered word-lists than on unclustered lists, suggesting active strategic organizational skills, even at delayed free recall.

Sleep quality and depression during pregnancy: a prospective study.

For the first time, the relationship between depressive symptoms and sleep quality was explored prospectively during pregnancy. Participants (n = 273) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Beck Depression Inventory at three 8-week intervals, starting from 15-23 weeks gestation. In addition to sleep quality and depression remaining relatively stable during pregnancy, findings revealed that sleep quality earlier in pregnancy predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms at later stage in pregnancy (after controlling for prior depression levels).

Working memory and learning in early Alzheimer's disease.

Cognitive deficits associated with early Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been recently operationalised in terms of an acquisition deficit and the research supporting this view is presented. However, there is still debate concerning the nature of this deficit and how underlying cognitive processes may be detrimentally affecting the ability to acquire new information in early AD. This review argues that the pattern of cognitive deficits contributing to the acquisition impairment in early AD patients may be readily interpreted within the context of a working memory model.