Endothelial function and lipid profile of individuals with schizophrenia participating in a supported employment program.

Background: The social function of individuals with schizophrenia is usually poor and this population exhibits a sedentary lifestyle. Social participation, inclusion in the world of work in particular, might favorably interfere with the lives of these individuals by reducing sedentarism and improving their state of health.

Objective: To analyze the lipid profile and endothelial function markers among individuals with schizophrenia enrolled in a supported employment program.

Exercise-induced modulation of histone H4 acetylation status and cytokines levels in patients with schizophrenia.

The present study aimed to investigate the short and long-term effects of a concurrent exercise protocol on global histone H4 acetylation levels and inflammatory markers (interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and cortisol) in phytohemagglutinin-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and in peripheral blood of patients with schizophrenia (SZ), as well the intervention impact on anthropometric characteristics. Seventeen individuals were submitted to the intervention three times a week and blood samples were collected pre, 30, 60 and 90days after the intervention started. A remarkable reduction on body mass index and body mass were observed following intervention.

Standardised measures of needs, stigma and informal care in schizophrenia using a bottom-up, cross-cultural approach.

Background There is a lack of instruments to measure the needs, stigma and informal care of people with schizophrenia that take account of sociocultural variation and patients' and formal and informal carers' opinions and experiences. Aims To develop questionnaires to measure stigma, needs and informal (non-professional) care for people with schizophrenia. Method We undertook the study in seven countries and in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

[Mental health care: perceptions of people with schizophrenia and their carers].

The current study aims to discover the opinions of patients and their (informal and formal) carers concerning the mental health care of individuals with long term schizophrenic disorders within different contexts and cultures. It's a qualitative study with focus groups,in which 6 research centers (from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Spain, England and Venezuela) participated. Eight focus groups were conducted in each center, totaling 303 individuals in 46 groups.

Existential questions in schizophrenia: perception of patients and caregivers.

Objective: To examine existential questions in the daily life of people with schizophrenia and their caregivers.

Methods: Qualitative study with focus groups. 146 people with schizophrenia (55% men) and 80 caregivers (75% women) participated.

Autonomy of long-stay psychiatric inpatients.

Objective: To assess personal autonomy of long-stay psychiatric inpatients, to identify those patients who could be discharged and to evaluate the impact of sociodemographic variables, social functioning, and physical disabilities on their autonomy was also assessed.

Methods: A total of 584 long-stay individuals of a psychiatric hospital (96% of the hospital population) in Southern Brazil was assessed between July and August 2002. The following instruments, adapted to the Brazilian reality, were used: independent living skills survey, social behavioral schedule, and questionnaire for assessing physical disability.

Existential needs of people with psychotic disorders in Pôrto Alegre, Brazil.

Background: Needs for care in service users with schizophrenia are often defined by professionals and focus on basic needs for health and social care rather than broader existential issues.

Aims: To examine the perceptions of users and formal and informal carers of the needs of people with non-affective psychosis.

Method: A qualitative study was conducted involving focus groups of service users and informal and formal carers in a major Brazilian city.