Associations between momentary mental states and concurrent social functioning after remission from first episode psychosis: A HAMLETT ecological momentary assessment study.

Background: Symptom severity and social functioning are important outcomes after first episode psychosis (FEP), yet current evidence about associations between them is inconsistent and lacks (subclinical) momentary insights.

Methods: The current Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) study was conducted in 58 people in remission from FEP, as part of the HAMLETT (Handling Antipsychotic Medication: Long-term Evaluation of Targeted Treatment) trial. At baseline, participants were prompted to report momentary mental states and social context 10x/day for eight consecutive days, including psychotic experiences (PEs), motivation/drive and negative affect, that may indicate proxies of (subclinical) psychotic, negative and general affective symptoms, respectively.

Polygenic and Polyenvironment Interplay in Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorder and Affective Psychosis; the EUGEI First Episode Study.

Background: Multiple genetic and environmental risk factors play a role in the development of both schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and affective psychoses. How they act in combination is yet to be clarified.

Methods: We analyzed 573 first episode psychosis cases and 1005 controls, of European ancestry.

The impact of schizophrenia genetic load and heavy cannabis use on the risk of psychotic disorder in the EU-GEI case-control and UK Biobank studies.

Background: The association between cannabis and psychosis is established, but the role of underlying genetics is unclear. We used data from the EU-GEI case-control study and UK Biobank to examine the independent and combined effect of heavy cannabis use and schizophrenia polygenic risk score (PRS) on risk for psychosis.

Methods: Genome-wide association study summary statistics from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and the Genomic Psychiatry Cohort were used to calculate schizophrenia and cannabis use disorder (CUD) PRS for 1098 participants from the EU-GEI study and 143600 from the UK Biobank.

Engagement and Acceptability of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Daily Life in Early Psychosis: Secondary Findings From a Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is promising in the treatment of early psychosis. Augmenting face-to-face ACT with mobile health ecological momentary interventions may increase its treatment effects and empower clients to take treatment into their own hands.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate and predict treatment engagement with and acceptability of acceptance and commitment therapy in daily life (ACT-DL), a novel ecological momentary intervention for people with an ultrahigh risk state and a first episode of psychosis.

Prodromal symptoms of a first manic episode: a qualitative study to the perspectives of patients with bipolar disorder and their caregivers'.

Background: Diagnosing bipolar disorder (BD) is challenging, and adequate treatment is of major importance to minimalize the consequences of the illness. Early recognition is one way to address this. Although in clinical research the prodromal phase of BD is gaining interest, the perspective of patients with BD and their caregivers on prodromal symptoms is still lacking.

Does stigma leave its mark? The interplay between negative effects of perceived stigma with positive effect of self-esteem on long-term social functioning in schizophrenia.

Background: Individuals with schizophrenia commonly experience poor social functioning (SF), influenced by stigmatization and linked to low self-esteem. The intricate role of self-esteem in this context remains insufficiently explored. This study delves into the short and long-term impact of perceived stigma on SF, investigating the mediating or moderating effects of self-esteem and momentary fluctuations in self-esteem.

The effect of polygenic risk score and childhood adversity on transdiagnostic symptom dimensions at first-episode psychosis: evidence for an affective pathway to psychosis.

Childhood adversity is associated with various clinical dimensions in psychosis; however, how genetic vulnerability shapes the adversity-associated psychopathological signature is yet to be studied. We studied data of 583 First Episode Psychosis (FEP) cases from the EU-GEI FEP case-control study, including Polygenic risk scores for major depressive disorder (MDD-PRS), bipolar disorder (BD-PRS) and schizophrenia (SZ-PRS); childhood adversity measured with the total score of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ); and positive, negative, depressive and manic psychopathological domains from a factor model of transdiagnostic dimensions. Genes and environment interactions were explored as a departure from a multiplicative effect of PRSs and total CTQ on each dimension.

Exploring the Interactions Between Psychotic Symptoms, Cognition, and Environmental Risk Factors: A Bayesian Analysis of Networks.

Background And Hypothesis: Psychotic disorders (PDs) have huge personal and societal impact, and efforts to improve outcomes in patients are continuously needed. Environmental risk factors (ERFs), especially modifiable risk factors, are important to study because they pose a target for intervention and prevention. No studies have investigated ERFs, cognition, and psychotic symptoms together in a network approach.

Shared decision-making in the treatment of bipolar disorder: findings from a nationwide naturalistic cohort study in everyday clinical practice.

Background: Shared decision-making (SDM) is of increasing importance in mental health care, however, large studies on the effects of SDM in bipolar disorder (BD) are scarce.

Aim: To gain insight into the relationships between SDM, guideline concordance of treatments in everyday practice, satisfaction with care, and medication adherence in BD.

Method: In a nationwide observational study on the treatment of BD, patients were asked questions about their involvement in treatment.

Addressing relationship quality of people with dementia and their family carers: which profiles require most support?

Objective: The quality of the relationship between persons with dementia and family carers influences health and quality-of-life outcomes. Little is known regarding those at higher risk of experiencing a decline in relationship quality, who could potentially benefit the most from interventions. We aimed to identify these risk profiles and explore the underlying factors.

Add-on Sodium Benzoate and -Acetylcysteine in Patients With Early Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder: A Multicenter, Double-Blind, Randomized Placebo-Controlled Feasibility Trial.

Background And Hypothesis: Oxidative stress pathways may play a role in schizophrenia through direct neuropathic actions, microglial activation, inflammation, and by interfering with NMDA neurotransmission. -acetylcysteine (NAC) has been shown to improve negative symptoms of schizophrenia, however, results from trials of other compounds targeting NMDA neurotransmission have been mixed. This may reflect poor target engagement but also that risk mechanisms act in parallel.

Societal recovery trajectories in people with a psychotic disorder in long term care: a latent class growth analysis.

Purpose: For many individuals with a psychotic disorder societal recovery is not accomplished. Research on societal recovery trajectories is mostly focussed on patients with a first episode psychosis. The present study aims to identify distinct societal trajectories in those with long duration of illness, through the identification of patient subgroups that are characterized by homogeneous trajectories.

How to study psychological mechanisms of mania? A systematic review on the methodology of experimental studies on manic mood dysregulation of leading theories on bipolar disorder.

Introduction: Although there are several psychological theories on bipolar disorders (BD), the empirical evidence on these theories through experimental studies is still limited. The current study systematically reviews experimental methods used in studies on the main theories of BD: Reward Hypersensitivity Theory (RST) or Behavioral Activation System (BAS), Integrative Cognitive Model (ICM), Positive Emotion Persistence (PEP), Manic Defense theory (MD), and Mental Imagery (MI). The primary aim is to provide an overview of the used methods and to identify limitations and suggest areas of improvement.

The association of tobacco smoking and metabolite levels in the anterior cingulate cortex of first-episode psychosis patients: A case-control and 6-month follow-up H-MRS study.

Tobacco smoking is highly prevalent among patients with psychosis and associated with worse clinical outcomes. Neurometabolites, such as glutamate and choline, are both implicated in psychosis and tobacco smoking. However, the specific associations between smoking and neurometabolites have yet to be investigated in patients with psychosis.

Mentalization based treatment for a broad range of personality disorders: a naturalistic study.

Background: Several studies have observed that mentalization-based treatment (MBT) is an effective treatment for borderline personality disorder (BPD), but its effectiveness for other personality disorders (PDs) has hardly been examined. Additionally, the evidence supporting the claim that MBT improves mentalizing capacity is scarce. The present study examined whether (i) patients with a broad range of PDs enrolled in an MBT program would improve on several outcome measures (ii) mentalizing capacity would improve over time; (iii) patients with BPD would improve more than those with non-borderline PDs.

Predicting which intervention works better for whom: Moderators of treatment effect of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy and Positive Psychology Intervention in patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: This study aimed to identify moderators of treatment effect (i.e. depressive symptoms and well-being) of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI) in patients with bipolar disorder.

Lithium-discontinuation-induced treatment refractoriness revisited.

Background: Lithium is effective in the long-term treatment of bipolar disorder. Concerns have been raised about non-responsiveness after discontinuation and resuming previously effective lithium prophylaxis. We reviewed the available literature on this so-called lithium-discontinuation-induced treatment refractoriness (LDITR).

Place-Based FACT: Treatment Outcomes and Patients' Experience with Integrated Neighborhood-Based Care.

Locating specialized mental healthcare services in the neighborhood of people with severe mental illnesses (SMI) has been suggested as a way of improving treatment outcomes by increasing patient engagement and integration with the local care landscape. The current mixed methods study aimed to examine patient experience and treatment outcomes in three Flexible Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) teams that relocated to the neighborhood they served, compared to seven teams that continued to provide FACT as usual from a central office. Routine Outcome Measurement (ROM) and care use data were analyzed to compare change in treatment outcomes for patients in place-based FACT (n = 255) and FACT as usual (n = 833).

Lower Switch Rate in Depressed Patients With Bipolar II Than Bipolar I Disorder Treated Adjunctively With Second-Generation Antidepressants.

Objectives: The authors compared the switch rate into hypomania/mania in depressed patients treated with second-generation antidepressants who had either bipolar I or bipolar II disorder.

Methods: In a 10-week trial, 184 outpatients with bipolar depression (134 with bipolar I disorder, 48 with bipolar II disorder, two with bipolar disorder not otherwise specified) were treated with one of three antidepressants as an adjunct to mood stabilizers. The patients' switch rates were assessed.

The association between alterations in motor and cognitive dimensions of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: A systematic review.

Motor and cognitive alterations in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) share common neural underpinnings, highlighting the necessity for a thorough exploration of the connections between these areas. This relationship is crucial, as it holds potential significance in unraveling the underlying mechanisms of SSD pathophysiology, ultimately leading to advancements in clinical staging and treatment strategies. The purpose of this review was to characterize the relationship between different hyper and hypokinetic domains of motor alterations and cognition in SSD.