The Impact of Once Daily Dosing on Protein Binding of Clozapine and Norclozapine.

Purpose/background: Clozapine and norclozapine are highly protein bound. Currently, clozapine is increasingly prescribed once daily (QD). Higher (once daily) doses may theoretically lead to saturation of protein binding of (nor)clozapine, resulting in increased unbound fractions.

Longitudinal clinical and functional outcome in distinct cognitive subgroups of first-episode psychosis: a cluster analysis.

Background: Cognitive deficits may be characteristic for only a subgroup of first-episode psychosis (FEP) and the link with clinical and functional outcomes is less profound than previously thought. This study aimed to identify cognitive subgroups in a large sample of FEP using a clustering approach with healthy controls as a reference group, subsequently linking cognitive subgroups to clinical and functional outcomes.

Methods: 204 FEP patients were included.

To continue or not to continue? Antipsychotic medication maintenance versus dose-reduction/discontinuation in first episode psychosis: HAMLETT, a pragmatic multicenter single-blind randomized controlled trial.

Background: Antipsychotic medication is effective for symptomatic treatment in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. After symptom remission, continuation of antipsychotic treatment is associated with lower relapse rates and lower symptom severity compared to dose reduction/discontinuation. Therefore, most guidelines recommend continuation of treatment with antipsychotic medication for at least 1 year.

Continued cannabis use and outcome in first-episode psychosis: data from a randomized, open-label, controlled trial.

Objective: Cannabis use has been found to increase the risk of psychosis. It is unclear whether, after a first psychotic episode has occurred, continued cannabis use is associated with poor functional outcome of psychosis.

Method: As part of a randomized, open-label, controlled trial, the association of cannabis use and measures for psychopathology and social role functioning after 2 years of follow-up and for the recently proposed outcome measures of symptomatic remission, functional remission, and clinical recovery was explored in a group of 124 patients suffering from nonaffective first-episode psychosis (diagnosed according to DSM-IV and included from a catchment area in the Netherlands of 3.

Neurocognition and recovery in first episode psychosis.

Cognitive functioning has been found to be a predictor of functional outcome of schizophrenia. It is unclear, however, whether clinical recovery can be predicted by scores on specific cognitive domains. The predictive value of specific neurocognitive domains and other clinical variables for symptomatic and functional outcome and clinical recovery after a 2-year follow-up is explored in a group of 51 patients with non-affective first-episode psychosis.