Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental health condition characterized by a range of symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking, and speech difficulties. Sexual behaviour in individuals with schizophrenia can be affected by a combination of factors, including the symptoms of the condition, medication side effects, social factors, and personal beliefs and values. Research suggests that individuals with schizophrenia are more likely to have issues with intimacy, experience difficulties with sexual functioning, and engage in risky sexual behaviour. Treatment strategies for these issues may include addressing the underlying causes of sexual dysfunction, developing appropriate communication skills, and providing support to promote healthy sexual relationships. Overall, understanding the complex relationship between schizophrenia and sexual behaviour is important for promoting the overall wellbeing of individuals living with this condition.
Objective: Mental health services are placing a greater emphasis on wellbeing and recovery. Services are also prioritizing the early intervention for people with psychosis in order to support mental health and to reduce the negative impact on the person’s life. Positive Psychotherapy is the therapy that directly cultivates subjective wellbeing and it also aligns with attaining personal recovery. Method: A pilot single case experimental design investigated the use of Positive Psychotherapy for people with a first episode of psychosis. Five people (2 males, 3 females) aged between 20 and 47 years, were recruited from the North Dublin Mental Health Services. Results: Positive Psychotherapy was found to be an acceptable therapy with all of the participants completing the intervention. Some improvements were noted within the daily recording of subjective wellbeing, yet the effect of the intervention was not replicated throughout participants. However, there were differences in relation to how people with higher and lower levels of distress experience Positive Psychotherapy. The findings on the standardized wellbeing measures indicate that people recovering from psychosis can attain subjective wellbeing and to the same level as that recorded within the general population. There was clearly a greater drop in participants’ level of distress than an increase in wellbeing on the standardized measures. It may therefore be that distress and wellbeing are distinctive constructs. Reliable change occurred within more people on the clinical measure of distress than on the wellbeing measures, with clinically significant change occurring within most participants. All of the participants’ level of functioning also increased following the intervention. It is recommended for future interventions to align people presenting with similar levels of: distress, wellbeing and features of psychosis. It is also suggested to investigate the links or otherwise between the constructs and the mechanisms underpinning the therapy. Conclusion: There is initial evidence that Positive Psychotherapy is beneficial to the mental health of people recovering from psychosis. This is particularly evident on the standardized clinical measure of distress and in terms of increasing people’s levels of functioning. However, further refined research is clearly warranted.
Background: Resistance to treatment characterizes a substantial portion of patients with schizophrenia. Without adequate symptom control from medication, these patients are left with few therapeutic options. Objective: Given the recent success of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in treatment-refractory neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, obsessivecompulsive disorder, substance use disorder, and Tourette syndrome, we reviewed the existing evidence for DBS in schizophrenia. Methods: We searched PubMed and MEDLINE for articles and conducted a systematic review on DBS as a treatment for schizophrenia in line with the PRISMA-P 2020 guidelines. Results: After the search and screening process, we reviewed a total of three articles with eleven patients implanted. The nucleus accumbens (n = 3), subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (n = 4), habenula (n = 2), and substantia nigra pars reticulata (n = 1) were all targeted for stimulation. Stimulation resulted in symptom reduction on respective outcome measures in nine of ten patients stimulated (one patient was explanted without stimulation). There were ten adverse events across the eleven procedures and five of these were deemed serious adverse events, comparable to other reports of DBS. Three of these events occurred in the same patient, while one event coincided with a patient’s discontinuation of their own antipsychotic regimen. None resulted in permanent harm. Conclusion: Despite a limited experience, DBS is likely safe, and potentially effective in patients with refractory schizophrenia. Further investigation is necessary to establish ideal targets for stimulation.
Discourse task is assumed to unveil the dyssynchrony between thought and language in an Individual with Schizophrenia (IWS). We investigated the narrative discourse abilities of a schizophrenia participant using qualitative and quantitative methods of discourse analysis. Discourse samples of picture description and narration were video recorded and transcribed using International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). The transcribed samples were subjected to two methods of analysis such as qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis to see the pattern of discourse production. The qualitative analysis of discourse was carried out using a standardized “Discourse Analysis Scale” (DAS) and the quantitative analysis was done using Thematic-Unit Analysis (T-unit analysis) for narration and picture description task. The qualitative analysis of discourse revealed deficits at the level of propositional and non-propositional aspects of communication for narration and picture description task. Quantitative analysis revealed a higher proportion of T-units for picture description task. In conclusion, it is important to establish both qualitative and quantitative analysis of discourse to document the presence of deficits at propositional and non-propositional aspects of communication. Using both the method of analysis would help the clinician to profile the cognitive-linguistic impairment in an IWS, which will further facilitate the clinician to device and deliver better treatment for IWS.
We present an analysis of three patients from literature with a malignancy treated with high-dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It is evident that schizophrenia can be transferred during the cell graft from a schizophrenic donor, cured by the graft from a healthy donor, or cured by high-dose therapy and an autologous graft. We suggest that the use of allogeneic MSCs from healthy donors (including MSCs soluble and insoluble paracrine factors) in schizophrenia patients may be an exciting therapeutic option for further exploration.
In the psychosocial rehabilitation of people with Severe Mental Illness (SMI), employment plays an important role as ingredient in the recovery process and human rights, as the numerous benefits generated in each of the personal and social dimensions. Existing research has tried to determine the variables that favour or hinder access to the labour market by studying the experiences reported by SMI people in ordinary employment. However, the results obtained do not show a clear consensus on the variables that determine the success of the employment experience. The job satisfaction is presented as a variable to be deeply studied due to the few studies on this topic. This paper provides a review of studies on job satisfaction as a predictor of success in SMI people regular employment, different databases were consulted from 2010 to 2021.
Neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia are challenging to treat due to the biological complexity of the disease and the lack of knowledge of the underlying pathophysiology. Whole exome and genome sequencing studies have identified disease-linked rare variants in patients with large effect size. Here, we functionally characterize the schizophrenia linked variant V1282F in SCN2A, encoding the sodium channel Nav1.2. This variant was introduced into isogenic lines of hiPSCs using CRISPR/CAS9 genome editing tools. hiPSCs were then differentiated into cortical neurons to understand how the variant and gene may be contributing to disease. We observed a significant (~25%) decrease in sodium current in the V1282F neurons compared to control neurons, suggesting the mutation is causing a loss-of-channel function. These results were supported by recordings in recombinant cells overexpressing either the mutant or wildtype Nav1.2, with the mutant channel having significantly (~75%) lower current amplitude than wildtype. We hypothesize that this phenotype may contribute to disease either through the direct loss of neuronal activity or through subsequent abnormal neurodevelopment.
OBJECTIVE:The primary aim of this study was to examine first-person phenomenological descriptions of the relationship between the self and Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (AVHs). Complex AVHs are frequently described as entities with clear interpersonal characteristics. Strikingly, investigations of first-person (subjective) descriptions of the phenomenology of the relationship are virtually absent from the literature.METHOD:Twenty participants with psychosis and actively experiencing AVHs were recruited from the University of Illinois at Chicago. A mixed-methods design involving qualitative and quantitative components was utilized. Following a priority-sequence model of complementarity, quantitative analyses were used to test elements of emergent qualitative themes.RESULTS:The qualitative analysis identified three foundational constructs in the relationship between self and voices: 'understanding of origin,' 'distinct interpersonal identities,' and 'locus of control.' Quantitative analyses further supported identified links of these constructs. Subjects experienced their AVHs as having identities distinct from self and actively engaged with their AVHs experienced a greater sense of autonomy and control over AVHs.DISCUSSION:Given the clinical importance of AVHs and emerging strategies targeting the relationship between the hearer and voices, our findings highlight the importance of these relational constructs in improvement and innovation of clinical interventions. Our analyses also underscore the value of detailed voice assessments such as those provided by the Maastricht Interview are needed in the evaluation process. Subjects narratives shows that the relational phenomena between hearer and AVH(s) is dynamic, and can be influenced and changed through the hearers' engagement, conversation, and negotiation with their voices.
BACKGROUND:Epidemiological studies have shown that there is a reduced risk of prostate cancer among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia (SCZ). However, the mechanism of such relationship is not clear. The reduced incidence of cancer observed in SCZ patients may be related to differences in genetic background. Recently, the JAZF1 gene is found to be associated with prostate cancer and type 2 diabetes. However, no study has focused on the association of JAZF1 with the risk of SCZ.METHODS:We examined genetic associations of 118 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the JAZF1 gene with SCZ using one European American (EA) sample of 1,149 cases and 1,347 controls. Logistic regression analysis of SCZ as a binary trait was performed using PLINK software.RESULTS:The most significant association with SCZ was observed with rs10258132 (p = 0.0011); while the next best signal was rs17156259 (p = 0.0031). The third best associated SNP was rs7791865 (p = 0.00889). In addition, haplotype analyses revealed that the A-C haplotype from rs10244184 and rs10258132 was associated with SCZ (p = 0.00093); and the G-G haplotype from rs17156238 and rs17156259 was associated with SCZ (p = 0.00455).CONCLUSION:These findings provide evidence of several genetic variants in JAZF1 gene influencing the risk of SCZ and will serve as a resource for replication in other populations.
