Publications by authors named "Petra Furstova"
Background: We need to better understand the risk factors and predictors of medication-related weight gain to improve metabolic health of individuals with schizophrenia. This study explores how trajectories of antipsychotic medication (AP) use impact body weight early in the course of schizophrenia.
Methods: We recruited 92 participants with first-episode psychosis (FEP, = 92) during their first psychiatric hospitalization.
Background: Lateral ventricular enlargement represents a canonical morphometric finding in chronic patients with schizophrenia; however, longitudinal studies elucidating complex dynamic trajectories of ventricular volume change during critical early disease stages are sparse.
Methods: We measured lateral ventricular volumes in 113 first-episode schizophrenia patients (FES) at baseline visit (11.7 months after illness onset, SD = 12.
The Gaze of Schizophrenia Patients Captured by Bottom-up Saliency.
Schizophrenia (Heidelb)
February 2024
Schizophrenia (SCHZ) notably impacts various human perceptual modalities, including vision. Prior research has identified marked abnormalities in perceptual organization in SCHZ, predominantly attributed to deficits in bottom-up processing. Our study introduces a novel paradigm to differentiate the roles of top-down and bottom-up processes in visual perception in SCHZ.
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- Negative symptoms in schizophrenia negatively impact social and occupational outcomes, and this study aimed to identify baseline predictors of these symptoms measured four years later in first-episode patients.* -
- The analysis of 77 patients found that the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and severity of negative symptoms at the initial visit were significant predictors of later severity, with longer DUP correlating strongly with increased negative symptoms.* -
- The findings emphasize the importance of early intervention in schizophrenia, as prolonged DUP is linked to worsening negative symptoms, highlighting the need for preventive measures in clinical practice.*
Background: The main aim of the present study is to determine the role of metabolites observed using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). As the literature describing biochemical changes in OCD yields conflicting results, we focused on accurate metabolite quantification of total N-acetyl aspartate (tNAA), total creatine (tCr), total choline-containing compounds (tCh), and myo-inositol (mI) in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to capture the small metabolic changes between OCD patients and controls and between OCD patients with and without medication.
Methods: In total 46 patients with OCD and 46 healthy controls (HC) matched for age and sex were included in the study.
In this study, we aimed to determine whether childhood trauma moderated the relationship between inflammation and cognitive functioning in persons with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). We included data from 92 individuals who participated in the nationwide Early-Stage Schizophrenia Outcome study. These individuals completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, provided a fasting blood sample for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein analysis, and underwent extensive neuropsychological testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchizophrenia is frequently associated with obesity, which is linked with neurostructural alterations. Yet, we do not understand how the brain correlates of obesity map onto the brain changes in schizophrenia. We obtained MRI-derived brain cortical and subcortical measures and body mass index (BMI) from 1260 individuals with schizophrenia and 1761 controls from 12 independent research sites within the ENIGMA-Schizophrenia Working Group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The aim of the current study was to explore the effect of gender, age at onset, and duration on the long-term course of schizophrenia.
Methods: Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries representing all continents participated in the study that included 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.
Background: The aim of the current study was to explore the changing interrelationships among clinical variables through the stages of schizophrenia in order to assemble a comprehensive and meaningful disease model.
Methods: Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries participated and included 2358 patients aged 37.21 ± 11.
Introduction: A specific clinically relevant staging model for schizophrenia has not yet been developed. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the factor structure of the PANSS and develop such a staging method.
Methods: Twenty-nine centers from 25 countries contributed 2358 patients aged 37.