Reduced Functional Brain Activation and Connectivity During a Working Memory Task in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia.

Objective: Working memory (WM) deficits are consistently reported in schizophrenia and are related to poor functional outcomes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of adult-onset schizophrenia have reported decreased functional activations and connectivity in the WM network, but no prior functional magnetic resonance imaging study has examined WM in childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS). The aim of this study was to examine the neural correlates of WM in COS.

Lack of Gender-Related Differences in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia.

Objective: Gender differences, including younger age of onset and greater premorbid deficits in men, have been reported in adult-onset schizophrenia. This study comprehensively evaluated gender differences in childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), a rare variant of the disorder.

Method: Demographic, premorbid, clinical, familial, and cognitive characteristics, presence of chromosomal abnormalities, and brain magnetic resonance imaging cortical volumes were evaluated in 133 patients with COS.

15q13.3 duplication in two patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia.

We report two cases of paternally inherited 15q13.3 duplications in carriers diagnosed with childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder of proposed polygenic origin with onset in children before age 13. This study documents that the 15q13.

Strong Treatment Response and High Maintenance Rates of Clozapine in Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia.

Objective: Childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) is a rare but severe form of the disorder, which is often treatment refractory. Short-term studies have indicated a greater differential efficacy, evident through effect sizes, favoring clozapine over other agents in alleviating negative symptoms in COS patients compared with adult-onset patients (AOS). There have been no data for COS patients on long-term compliance with clozapine treatment.