Neuropsychological Prediction of Treatment Efficacy and One-Year Outcome in Schizophrenia

Abstract

The present study was conducted to establish the degree of interrelationship between neuropsychological functioning in the acute phase of the schizophrenic illness, clinical measures of treatment response (positive and negative symptoms), and 1-year outcome. Nineteen SADS/RDC schizophrenic inpatients were clinically rated during a 2-week drug washout period and again following 4 weeks of neuroleptic treatment. The findings revealed that reduced attentional ability in the baseline phase significantly predicted the presence of higher residual negative symptoms following 4 weeks of treatment, while neurocognitive status was unrelated to positive symptom response. With respect to prediction of the 1-year outcome, poor functional status of this schizophrenic population was significantly associated with the presence of baseline memory dysfunction.

Psychomotor slowing and planning deficits in schizophrenia

“…Preliminary results show that psychomotor speed has more predictive value for functional outcome as has been highlighted in recent overviews . A number of earlier studies have indeed indicated that psychomotor measures have predictive value for the long-term daily living situation of patients with schizophrenia after release from a psychiatric hospital (Weaver & Brooks, 1967;Buchanan et al, 1994;Goldman et al, 1993).…”

Cognitive Dysfunction at Baseline Predicts Symptomatic 1-Year Outcome in First-Episode Schizophrenics

“…First, in a recent review, Fenton et al [17] hypothesized that poor medication compliance in a subgroup of patients may result from forgetting to take prescribed medication which may lead to increased psychopathology. Secondly, memory impairments are the most remarkable cognitive predictor of functional outcome [18]. In his review on the functional consequences of neurocognitive deficits Green [5] writes: 'Not one of the seven studies that included measures of secondary verbal memory failed to show an association regardless of the functional outcome measures'.…”

Eficacia de la rehabilitación cognitiva en la esquizofrenia: una revisión

“…Se obtienen importantes correlaciones entre el déficit neuropsicológico y el curso de la esquizofrenia (31,32,33), en el sentido que en pacientes con mayor déficit cognitivo se detecta un peor curso del trastorno.…”