Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy for schizophrenia: a review of recent empirical studies.

A set of cognitive behavioral psychotherapies (CBT) has been developed for schizophrenia. These interventions have been used for the treatment of both recent onset patients and those with treatment-refractory symptoms. This article reviews clinical trials of CBT for schizophrenia since 1990.

Social functioning and neurocognitive deficits in outpatients with schizophrenia: a 2-year follow-up.

Neurocognitive deficits have been associated with the social functioning impairments of patients with schizophrenia. More information is needed about how cognitive status and other variables predict social functioning over defined periods of time. In this study, 72 relatively stable outpatients with schizophrenia were compared between baseline and a 2-year follow-up on measures of social functioning.

Predictors of residential independence among outpatients with schizophrenia.

Objective: Many outpatients with schizophrenia receive support or supervision in their place of residence, but the predictors of residential independence are not clearly understood. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict the degree of residential independence among outpatients with schizophrenia.

Methods: Seventy-two outpatients with schizophrenia were assigned to three groups based on their degree of residential independence.

Subjective quality of life in out-patients with schizophrenia: clinical and utilization correlates.

The relationship between subjective quality of life (QOL), clinical measures, and service utilization was measured in out-patients with schizophrenia. A total of 72 subjects completed the Quality of Life Interview and were also assessed by means of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, a battery of neuropsychological tests, and two measures of social functioning. Use of psychiatric services over a 2-year period was ascertained from comprehensive records.

Assessing clinical outcomes: the community functioning of persons with serious mental illness.

Objective: The demand to measure the clinical outcomes of persons with serious mental illness in the community is growing; however, there is no consensus about how to do this task. This paper identifies challenges in measuring the outcomes of persons with serious mental illness and reviews selected instruments that measure the community functioning of this population.

Methods: Papers in peer-reviewed psychiatric journals for the years 1986 to 1996 were reviewed to select instruments that measure two or more domains of community functioning and for which data on reliability and validity have been published.

Lack of insight among outpatients with schizophrenia.

Objective: This study investigated the prevalence of lack of insight among outpatients with schizophrenia and the relationship between lack of insight and other variables, including whether patients received professional residential supervision.

Methods: A total of 87 stable outpatients with schizophrenia were drawn from community programs in a public-private mental health system. Subjects' clinical symptoms and insight about their illness were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, a battery of neuropsychological tests, and the Social Functioning Scale.

Neurocognitive deficits and social functioning in outpatients with schizophrenia.

Previous studies suggest that neurocognitive factors may contribute to the reduced social functioning of patients with schizophrenia. To assess this relationship, we administered a battery of neurocognitive tests and independently assessed symptoms (PANSS) and social functioning (SFS) in 88 stable outpatients with schizophrenia. We found a significant correlation between neurocognitive and social functioning variables.

Effect of diabetes, insulin, and glucose load on lipid peroxidation in the rat.

Lipid peroxidative activity in rats made diabetic with streptozocin and rats made acutely hyperglycemic by intraperitoneal dextrose administration was determined by measurement of exhaled ethane during exposure in vivo to ethane-free air (EFA). Diabetic rats demonstrated increased ethane in the expired breath while breathing EFA (5.82 +/- 0.

Effect of age on L-3,5,3'-triiodothyronine-induced ethane exhalation.

The effect of age on thyroid hormone-induced lipid peroxidation in rats was determined by measuring ethane exhalation (EE) rate. The mean basal EE rates (in pmol.min-1 x 100 g-1) at room air in 25-mo-old aged rats [3.

Effect of simple carbohydrates, casein hydrolysate, and a lipid test meal on ethane exhalation rate.

To determine the potential differences in the effect of various nutrients on lipid peroxidation, the ethane exhalation (EE) rate, an index of lipid peroxidation, was measured in rats at 4 (young), 18 (intermediate age), and 24 (aged) mo of age at fasting conditions and after acute ingestion of various test meals. The EE rate (means +/- SD) after a 15-h fast was significantly reduced in 24-mo-old rats (2.45 +/- 0.

Neuropsychological deficits in chronic schizophrenics. Relationship with symptoms and behavior.

Thirty-nine hospitalized chronic schizophrenics were administered the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) and the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised when they were clinically stable. Test variables were related to Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ratings and two behavioral measures of ward functioning, points and activities. Spearman correlations of test variables with the symptom and behavioral measures were entered into a series of median polish analyses.

Ethane production in copper-deficient rats.

Evidence is accumulating which indicates that copper-deficient animals are prone to oxidative damage. To investigate this possibility further, we measured the production of breath ethane, a hydrocarbon by-product of lipid peroxidation, in copper-deficient rats. Male, weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a purified diet which was deficient in copper (CuD) or the same diet made sufficient with 5 ppm of copper (CuS).

Lipid order and composition of synaptic membranes in experimental diabetes mellitus.

The effect of diabetes in rats on lipid composition and order of synaptosomal membranes (SM) was determined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats after 6 weeks of chronic hyperglycemia. The cholesterol content was slightly, but not significantly, higher in diabetic SM (0.287 +/- 0.

Ethane production rate in vivo is reduced with dietary restriction.

Dietary restriction without malnutrition prolongs life and has a beneficial effect on age-related diseases and metabolic derangements. To test the effect of food restriction on ethane production rate, ethane exhalation was measured in rats with partial food restriction. Ethane production rate in room air in rats fed 60% of food consumed by ad libitum-fed animals for 2 wk was significantly reduced (3.

Klinefelter's syndrome and psychopathology: a case study of the combined effects of nature and nurture.

A patient with Klinefelter's syndrome and genotype 47 XXY was abused and ostracized by his family during childhood. Later, this pattern was repeated by a series of homosexual lovers. The separate and interactive effects between genetic and psychosocial risk factors may account for this patient's subsequent psychosexual and personality disorders and reminds scholars of psychopathology of the importance of early detection and intervention.