Utility of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination--Revised for the diagnosis of dementia syndromes.

Aim: To evaluate the utility of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination--Revised (ACE-R) as a screening tool for dementia.

Method: Prospective audit of 122 patients (82 with dementia, 40 with no dementia) referred to a Sydney cognition clinic.

Results: An ACE-R cut-off score of 84/100 provided an optimal balance of sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (0.

Factors associated with functional psychosocial status in first-episode psychosis.

Aim: This study aimed to determine which of demographic/premorbid, psychiatric or neuropsychological variables are most closely associated with functional status around the time of diagnosis of first-episode psychosis. This was with a view to determining factors that should be the focus of intervention in these early stages of illness.

Methods: The Western Sydney First Episode Psychosis Project collected data on young persons (aged 13-25) with newly diagnosed psychosis (n=92).

Predictors of outcome three years after diagnosis of first episode psychosis.

This study aimed to determine which of demographic/premorbid, psychiatric or neuropsychological factors best predict functional outcome at 3 years after a first episode of psychotic illness. This will, it is hoped, identify prognostic indicators of longer term outcomes, as well as targets for rehabilitation. The Western Sydney First Episode Psychosis Project collected data on young people (aged 13 to 25) presenting with newly diagnosed psychosis at baseline and 3-year follow-up (n=52).

Investigating the neuropsychological and neuroanatomical changes that occur over the first 2-3 years of illness in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Objective: This study explored the concurrent courses of the neuroanatomical and neuropsychological changes that occurred over the first 2-3 years of illness in patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES).

Methods: Fifty-two patients with FES underwent neuropsychological testing and a structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) scan within three months of their first presentation to mental health services with psychotic symptoms (time1). Patients' cognitive performance was evaluated via an extensive neuropsychological test battery, which assessed 9 cognitive domains.

WMS-III findings in litigants following moderate to extremely severe brain trauma.

Published information pertaining to the clinical utility of the WMS-III in assessing memory impairment in traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains inadequate. WMS-III findings are reported for 180 litigants with post-acute moderate to extremely severe TBI, classified into three groups according to injury severity, and a healthy control group. A significant "dose-response" relationship was found between memory impairment and TBI severity for most of the WMS-III indexes and subtests.

Relative contributions of psychiatric symptoms and neuropsychological functioning to quality of life in first-episode psychosis.

Objective: To report on the relationship between quality of life (QOL), psychiatric symptoms and neuropsychological functioning in a sample of young people who have experienced a first episode of psychosis 2-3 years following initial presentation.

Method: Fifty-one participants aged 15-27 years old completed the short form of the World Health Organization Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-Bref), a self-report instrument assessing physical, psychological, social and environmental aspects of QOL. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered.

Evaluation of two methods for estimating Premorbid Intelligence on the WAIS-III in a clinical sample.

Two methods of predicting premorbid WAIS-III Full Scale IQ, namely a demographic measure (DP IQ) and the Oklahoma Premorbid Intelligence Estimate-3 (OPIE-3), were assessed in three traumatic brain injury (TBI) groups of varying injury severity and normal controls. On the DP IQ, average scores were in keeping with the general population mean across all groups but range was severely restricted. OPIE-3 IQ scores were not subject to severe range restriction and were comparable with the general population mean in the control and least severely brain injured group.

Clinical profiles, scope and general findings of the Western Sydney First Episode Psychosis Project.

Objective: To examine the clinical profile, treatment and social functioning of a community-based sample of young people presenting with their first episode of psychosis.

Methods: Over a 2-year period, young people with their first episode of psychosis referred to early intervention services in two area mental health services in western Sydney were assessed with a battery of clinical, neuropsychological, psychophysiological and neuroanatomical measures. This paper reports the clinical results of the baseline section of the study.

Neuropsychological correlates of symptom profiles in first episode schizophrenia.

This paper aimed to examine the relationship between the trichotomous symptom structure of psychopathology and neuropsychological functioning in young people with first episode schizophrenia (FES), most of whom were receiving atypical antipsychotic medication. This was with a view to providing insight into the underlying pathophysiology of the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia. Fifty-three young people (aged 13-25 years) with FES participated in the study.

Cognitive functioning in young people with first episode psychosis: relationship to diagnosis and clinical characteristics.

Objective: To examine the extent and nature of neuropsychological deficits in adolescents and young people with first episode psychosis (FEP), and to determine whether the pattern and extent of neuropsychological deficits varied according to diagnosis.

Method: A total of 83 FEP subjects aged 13-25 years, and 31 healthy controls completed a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests, grouped into 10 cognitive domains. First episode psychosis subjects were stratified into three diagnostic groups (schizophrenia, affective disorders, substance-induced psychosis) and differences in cognitive profiles were examined.

Quantitative measures of memory malingering on the Wechsler Memory Scale--Third edition in mild head injury litigants.

Wechsler Memory Scale-Third edition (WMS-III) performance in 25 mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) litigants who met the criteria for probable malingered neurocognitive dysfunction (MND) was compared with 50 nonmalingering subjects. The base rate for probable MND in the population studied was 27%. Overall, malingerers showed globally depressed memory function.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition findings in relation to severity of brain injury in litigants.

WAIS-III findings were reported for 150 litigants, classified into three groups according to severity of traumatic brain injury (TBI), and a general population control group. There was a significant "dose response" relationship between TBI severity and all Index/IQ scores. Effect size was greatest for the Processing Speed Index (PSI).