Evaluation of Dynamic Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Physical Function in Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective: To assess how changes in depressive symptoms influence physical function over time among those with radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: Participants from the Osteoarthritis Initiative with radiographic knee OA (n = 2,212) and complete data were identified at baseline. Depressive symptoms were assessed as a time-varying score at baseline and the first three annual follow-up visits using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) Scale.

Duloxetine plus exercise for knee osteoarthritis and depression: A feasibility study.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of a 24-week, center-based, aerobic exercise program plus duloxetine to treat symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) and major depression.

Design: Patients with symptomatic knee OA and major depression were recruited between August 2021 and November 2022 from the University of Maryland and VA Maryland Health Care Systems and Baltimore metropolitan area using medical records and advertisements. The intervention included 1) supervised treadmill walking 3 times weekly and 2) duloxetine starting at 30 ​mg each day and titrating up to the optimal dosage of 60 ​mg daily.

Time-varying treatment effect modification of oral analgesic effectiveness by depressive symptoms in knee osteoarthritis: an application of structural nested mean models in a prospective cohort.

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in knee osteoarthritis (OA), exacerbate knee pain severity and may influence outcomes of oral analgesic treatments. The aim was to assess whether oral analgesic effectiveness in knee OA varies by fluctuations in depressive symptoms.

Methods: The sample included Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) participants not treated with oral analgesics at enrolment (n = 1477), with radiographic disease at the first follow-up visit (defined as the index date).

Modified Work Behavior Inventory assessment: Evaluation of psychometric properties.

The Work Behavior Inventory (WBI) is a widely used and validated assessment of work functioning in people with schizophrenia. WBI ratings are based on workplace observation and interview with work supervisors. Workplace observation may not be acceptable in all employment settings.

Feasibility of implementing a recovery education center in a Veterans Affairs medical center.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of implementing a recovery education program in a Veterans Affairs medical center.

Method: This case study describes development and implementation of a mental health and wellness curriculum offered through a centralized location. Referral and utilization data (n = 781) from the first 18 months of implementation were used to evaluate feasibility.

Patterns and Predictors of Changes in Substance Use in Individuals with Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined patterns and predictors of changes in substance use over one year in individuals with schizophrenia and affective disorders. We examined patterns of cocaine use over time, baseline predictors of continued cocaine use over one year, and predictors of transitions into and out of drug use and treatment. METHODS: We recruited 240 individuals with schizophrenia and affective disorders who met DSM-IV criteria for current cocaine dependence or cocaine dependence in early full or sustained full remission, and assessed them five times over twelve months.

A randomized, controlled trial of computer-assisted cognitive remediation for schizophrenia.

Objective: There is considerable interest in cognitive remediation for schizophrenia, but its essential components are still unclear. The goal of the current study was to develop a broadly targeted computer-assisted cognitive remediation program and conduct a rigorous clinical trial in a large group of schizophrenia patients.

Method: Sixty-nine people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomly assigned to 36 sessions of computer-assisted cognitive remediation or an active control condition.

The 2009 schizophrenia PORT psychosocial treatment recommendations and summary statements.

The Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) psychosocial treatment recommendations provide a comprehensive summary of current evidence-based psychosocial treatment interventions for persons with schizophrenia. There have been 2 previous sets of psychosocial treatment recommendations (Lehman AF, Steinwachs DM. Translating research into practice: the Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) treatment recommendations.

Neurocognitive characteristics of individuals with schizophrenia and cocaine dependence: comparison of currently dependent and remitted groups.

Several investigations of cognitive functioning in individuals with schizophrenia and co-occurring cocaine use have yielded mixed results when compared with samples with schizophrenia only. However, no studies have specifically compared remitted and current cocaine dependence in schizophrenia. Such an analysis could help clarify the degree and type of cognitive impairment associated with cocaine dependence in schizophrenia.

Unmet needs of families of adults with mental illness and preferences regarding family services.

Objective: This study used a survey to assess the information and educational needs of family members of adults with mental illness and their preferences regarding how to address those needs.

Methods: Recruitment was attempted through two sources: local mental health treatment facilities and the Maryland chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Inadequate contact information and low response rate produced only 16 responses from family members of consumers recruited through local mental health facilities.

Heterogeneity in behavioral treatment response in severe mental illness.

An exploratory investigation of behavioral treatment response during inpatient rehabilitation for severe mental illness is presented. Archival data from 26 weeks of behavioral contingency management (CM) programs targeting treatment nonadherence for 2 cohorts of participants were analyzed. For cohort 1 (N = 39), a multivariate analysis of longitudinal behavioral data identified 4 qualitatively and quantitatively distinct patterns of CM response and these groups differed in verbal memory ability.

Heterogeneity in recovery of psychosocial functioning during psychiatric rehabilitation: an exploratory study using latent growth mixture modeling.

Research in schizophrenia and related severe mental illness (SMI) suggests that psychiatric rehabilitation facilitates recovery of psychosocial functioning although there is considerable heterogeneity in outcomes. The present study used growth mixture modeling (GMM), a longitudinal latent variable modeling strategy, to identify classes of psychosocial functioning recovery trajectories. Archival clinical assessment data representing the first 18 months of an inpatient psychiatric rehabilitation program were analyzed from a sample of participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (N=162).

Identifying mechanisms of treatment effects and recovery in rehabilitation of schizophrenia: longitudinal analytic methods.

The longitudinal dimension of schizophrenia and related severe mental illness is a key component of theoretical models of recovery. However, empirical longitudinal investigations have been underrepresented in the psychopathology of schizophrenia. Similarly, traditional approaches to longitudinal analysis of psychopathological data have had serious limitations.

Social cognitive bias and neurocognitive deficit in paranoid symptoms: evidence for an interaction effect and changes during treatment.

Persistent paranoid symptoms are best understood as having multiple causal mechanisms. An enhanced multidimensional understanding of paranoia may result from the convergence of two distinct measurement paradigms, experimental psychopathology and social cognitive research. This study investigated the role of neurocognitive deficits and emotion misperception bias as they relate to paranoid symptoms at two different time points in a sample of individuals with severe mental illness (primarily schizophrenia spectrum disorders [N=91]) undergoing intensive psychosocial rehabilitation.