Features of schizophrenia following premorbid eating disorders.

Objective: Eating disorders (ED) and schizophrenia are frequently comorbid and schizophrenia shares genetic susceptibility with anorexia. Many factors associated with schizophrenia can disrupt eating, but ED can present years before schizophrenia. If premorbid ED distinguishes a particular subtype of schizophrenia, then phenotypic features may differ between schizophrenia cases with and without premorbid ED.

Traumatic experiences and cognitive profiles of schizophrenia cases influenced by the BDNF Val66met polymorphism.

The association of early trauma exposure with current cognition was examined in a research series of 56 schizophrenia cases with respect to the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (rs6265, Val66Val, Val66Met, Met66Met), as met allele carriers have reduced neurotrophic activity. The Perceptual Organization Index had a significant negative correlation with trauma exposures only in met carriers, including early physical abuse, general trauma after age 18 years, and physical abuse. Within the Val66Val subgroup, there were no significant correlations between WAIS indices and traumatic experiences.

Normal sexual dimorphism in theory of mind circuitry is reversed in Schizophrenia.

The ability to mentalize, or theory of mind (ToM), is sexually dimorphic in humans and impaired in schizophrenia. This sex-stratified study probed cognitive (indexed by intelligence) and affective (indexed by olfactory tasks) contributions to ToM performance in 37 individuals with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls. The schizophrenia group showed impairments in mental state identification and inferring intentions compared to controls.

Telomere length and early trauma in schizophrenia.

Background: Childhood trauma is emerging as a risk factor for schizophrenia, but its mechanism with respect to etiology is unknown. One possible pathway is through leucocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening, a measure of cellular aging associated with trauma. This study examined early trauma and LTL shortening in schizophrenia and considered sex effects.

Independence of diabetes and obesity in adults with serious mental illness: Findings from a large urban public hospital.

Objective: There is limited research on metabolic abnormalities in psychotropic-naïve patients with serious mental illness (SMI). Our study examined metabolic conditions in a large, ethnically diverse sample of psychotropic-naïve and non-naïve adults with SMI at an urban public hospital.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 923 subjects, the prevalences of hyperglycemia meeting criteria for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) based on fasting plasma glucose and obesity defined by BMI and abdominal girth were compared across duration of psychotropic medication exposure.

Cognitive impairment, behavioral impairment, depression, and wish to die in an ALS cohort.

Objective: To evaluate relationships among cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric/psychosocial measures assessed in a multicenter cohort of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods: Recently diagnosed patients with definite or probable ALS diagnosis were administered 7 standardized psychiatric/psychosocial measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire for diagnosis of depression and elicitation of wish to die. The Cognitive Behavioral Screen was used to classify both cognitive and behavioral impairment (emotional-interpersonal function).

Phenotypically distinct subtypes of psychosis accompany novel or rare variants in four different signaling genes.

Background: Rare gene variants are important sources of schizophrenia vulnerability that likely interact with polygenic susceptibility loci. This study examined if novel or rare missense coding variants in any of four different signaling genes in sporadic schizophrenia cases were associated with clinical phenotypes in an exceptionally well-characterized sample.

Method: Structured interviews, cognition, symptoms and life course features were assessed in 48 ethnically-diverse cases with psychosis who underwent targeted exome sequencing of PTPRG (Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Receptor Type G), SLC39A13 (Solute Carrier Family 39 (Zinc Transporter) Member 13), TGM5 (transglutaminase 5) and ARMS/KIDINS220 (Ankyrin repeat-rich membrane spanning protein or Kinase D-Interacting Substrate of 220kDa).

Telephone based cognitive-behavioral screening for frontotemporal changes in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Our objective was to establish a valid and reliable battery of measures to evaluate frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in patients with ALS over the telephone. Thirty-one subjects were administered either in-person or by telephone-based screening followed by the opposite mode of testing two weeks later, using a modified version of the UCSF Cognitive Screening Battery. Equivalence testing was performed for in-person and telephone based tests.

Phenotypic and molecular analyses of primary lateral sclerosis.

Objective: To understand phenotypic and molecular characteristics of patients with clinically "definite" primary lateral sclerosis (PLS) in a prospective study.

Methods: Six sites enrolled 41 patients who had pure upper motor neuron dysfunction, bulbar symptoms, a normal EMG done within 12 months of enrollment, and onset of symptoms ≥5 years before enrollment. For phenotypic analyses, 27 demographic, clinical, and cognitive variables were analyzed using the k-means clustering method.

Prefrontal neuronal integrity predicts symptoms and cognition in schizophrenia and is sensitive to genetic heterogeneity.

Schizophrenia is a genetically complex syndrome with substantial inter-subject variability in multiple domains. Person-specific measures to resolve its heterogeneity could focus on the variability in prefrontal integrity, which this study indexed as relative rostralization within the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Twenty-two schizophrenia cases and 11 controls underwent rigorous diagnostic procedures, symptom assessments (PANSS, Deficit Syndrome Scale) and intelligence testing.

Frequent Comorbidity and Predictors of Social Anxiety in Persons With Schizophrenia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To determine if symptoms of social anxiety are distinct from negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Method: Fifty-three patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (diagnosed per DSM-IV criteria) and 37 healthy controls were examined with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) for social anxiety disorder and for the severity of social anxiety. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Chapman scales for physical and social anhedonia were also administered.

Cognitive-behavioral screening reveals prevalent impairment in a large multicenter ALS cohort.

Objectives: To characterize the prevalence of cognitive and behavioral symptoms using a cognitive/behavioral screening battery in a large prospective multicenter study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods: Two hundred seventy-four patients with ALS completed 2 validated cognitive screening tests and 2 validated behavioral interviews with accompanying caregivers. We examined the associations between cognitive and behavioral performance, demographic and clinical data, and C9orf72 mutation data.

Opinions of Japanese and American ALS caregivers regarding tracheostomy with invasive ventilation (TIV).

Our objective was to learn more about possible factors contributing to the higher rates of tracheostomy with invasive ventilation (TIV) for ALS patients in Japan compared with the United States by eliciting attitudes of caregivers of ALS patients in both countries. One hundred and fifty-four American caregivers from five, geographically-distributed ALS clinics and 66 Japanese caregivers from six sites in Japan completed questionnaires regarding TIV. Results showed that 33% of American caregivers were in favor of TIV for their family member compared to 53% of Japanese caregivers; 44% of American and 37% of Japanese caregivers were undecided; and 22% of American and 10% of Japanese caregivers were opposed (p <.

Parental age effects on odor sensitivity in healthy subjects and schizophrenia patients.

A schizophrenia phenotype for paternal and maternal age effects on illness risk could benefit etiological research. As odor sensitivity is associated with variability in symptoms and cognition in schizophrenia, we examined if it was related to parental ages in patients and healthy controls. We tested Leukocyte Telomere Length (LTL) as an explanatory factor, as LTL is associated with paternal age and schizophrenia risk.

Factor Structure of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) Differs by Sex.

Although the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is widely used in clinical research, factor analytic studies of the scale have been inconsistent and questions remain about the underlying factor structure of schizophrenia symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the factor structure of the PANSS differs in men and women with schizophrenia. Principal components analysis (PCA) with equamax rotation was used to examine the factor structure of the PANSS separately in 124 males and 74 females with schizophrenia-related psychoses.

Olfactory performance segregates effects of anhedonia and anxiety on social function in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Social dysfunction is common among individuals with schizophrenia. While often attributed to anhedonia, social dysfunction could also result from unrecognized anxiety. We examined the contributions of anhedonia and anxiety to social function using olfactory function to examine whether the domains had separate underpinnings.

Influence of early trauma on features of schizophrenia.

Aim: This proof-of-concept study examined if early trauma influences features of schizophrenia, consistent with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation.

Methods: Early trauma and current perceived stress were assessed in 28 treated schizophrenia cases, along with salivary cortisol, brain volumes, cognition and symptoms.

Results: Early trauma predicted more positive (r = .

Hypo-metabolism of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex associated with working memory impairment in 18 cases of schizophrenia.

Working memory (Work-Mem), the capacity to hold and manipulate information, activates the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), especially its caudal subregion. Impaired Work-Mem and structural and functional abnormalities of the ACC are reported in schizophrenia. This study aims to elucidate the pathogenesis of Work-Mem dysfunction in schizophrenia by comparing metabolite concentrations across ACC subregions.

Disagreement between therapist raters and independent evaluators in a controlled clinical trial of interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed pregnant women.

Background: The randomized controlled trial in which both the patient and the treating clinician are kept blinded to the treatment is the "gold standard" for treatment research assignment. However, in psychotherapy research, evaluations can only be single blind; thus, such studies are inherently more limited.

Methods: A 12-week, bilingual, parallel-design, controlled clinical treatment trial compared interpersonal psychotherapy for antepartum depression (IPT-P) with a parenting education program (PEP) provided to a control group.

Depression and wish to die in a multicenter cohort of ALS patients.

Our objective was to determine prevalence of depressive disorders and wish to die at the baseline visit of a longitudinal multisite study of patients with ALS. Structured telephone interviews were conducted with patients diagnosed in past 18 months at 16 U.S.

Low vitamin D levels predict clinical features of schizophrenia.

Vitamin D plays crucial roles in neuroprotection and neurodevelopment, and low levels are commonly associated with schizophrenia. We considered if the association was spurious or causal by examining the association of Vitamin D with Leukocyte Telomere Length (LTL), a marker of cellular aging. Vitamin D levels in 22 well-characterized schizophrenia cases were examined with respect to symptoms, cognition, and functioning.