[The association between cognitive deficits and different outcomes of schizophrenia]

de Nijs J, Zoun K, Investigators G Psychiatr. Pol. 2014 Nov-Dec;48(6):1087-104 PMID: 25717480 Abstract AIM: Schizophrenia is a disorder with different outcomes. Besides the positive and negative symptoms, cognitive impairment is an important core feature of schizophrenia and often pre-dates the disorder. Cognition has consistently been related to outcome in schizophrenia. Given this finding and the fact that diagnosing and …

The association between antibodies to neurotropic pathogens and schizophrenia: a case-control study

de Witte LD, van Mierlo HC, Litjens M, Klein HC, Bahn S, Osterhaus AD, NPJ Schizophr 2015;1:15041 PMID: 27336045 Abstract BACKGROUND: Exposure to neurotropic pathogens has been proposed as an environmental risk factor for schizophrenia and can be evaluated by measuring pathogen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG). Seroprevalence of pathogen-specific IgG reflects prior exposure, whereas IgG levels are associated with reactivity or …

Semi-metric analysis of the functional brain network: Relationship with familial risk for psychotic disorder

Peeters S, Simas T, Suckling J, Gronenschild E, Patel A, Habets P, van Os J, Marcelis M, Neuroimage Clin 2015;9:607-16 PMID: 26740914 Abstract BACKGROUND: Dysconnectivity in schizophrenia can be understood in terms of dysfunctional integration of a distributed network of brain regions. Here we propose a new methodology to analyze complex networks based on semi-metric behavior, whereby higher levels of …

No evidence for the presence of neuronal surface autoantibodies in plasma of patients with schizophrenia

van Mierlo HC, van Coevorden-Hameete MH, Munting LP, de Graaff E, de Witte L, Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2015 Dec;25(12):2326-32 PMID: 26482911 Abstract The immune system has been implicated in the etiology of schizophrenia. Autoimmunity by antibodies against neuronal cell surface antigens has been proposed as one of the pathological mechanisms. We examined plasma samples of 104 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia for …

Further Evidence That Cannabis Moderates Familial Correlation of Psychosis-Related Experiences

van Winkel R, PLoS ONE 2015;10(9):e0137625 PMID: 26384217 Abstract BACKGROUND: Familial correlations underlie heritability estimates of psychosis. If gene-environment interactions are important, familial correlation will vary as a function of environmental exposure. METHODS: Associations between sibling and parental schizotypy (n = 669 pairs, n = 1222 observations), and between sibling schizotypy and patient CAPE psychosis (n = 978 pairs, n …

Bone Mineral Density as a Marker of Cumulative Estrogen Exposure in Psychotic Disorder: A 3 Year Follow-Up Study

van der Leeuw C, Peeters S, Domen P, van Kroonenburgh M, van Os J, Marcelis M, PLoS ONE 2015;10(8):e0136320 PMID: 26309037 Abstract Altered estrogen-induced neuroprotection has been implicated in the etiology of psychotic disorders. Using bone mineral density as a marker of lifetime estrogen exposure, a longitudinal family study was conducted to discriminate between etiological mechanisms and secondary effects of …

Psychotic disorder and educational achievement: a family-based analysis

Frissen A, Lieverse R, Marcelis M, Drukker M, Delespaul P, Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2015 Oct;50(10):1511-8 PMID: 26099998 Abstract BACKGROUND: Early social and cognitive alterations in psychotic disorder, associated with familial liability and environmental exposures, may contribute to lower than expected educational achievement. The aims of the present study were to investigate (1) how differences in educational level between parents …

Evidence for a Shared Etiological Mechanism of Psychotic Symptoms and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms in Patients with Psychotic Disorders and Their Siblings

Swets M, Van Dael F, Roza S, Schoevers R, Myin-Germeys I, de Haan L, PLoS ONE 2015;10(6):e0125103 PMID: 26061170 Abstract The prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder in subjects with psychotic disorder is much higher than in the general population. The higher than chance co-occurrence has also been demonstrated at the level of subclinical expression of both phenotypes. Both extended phenotypes have …

Course of cannabis use and clinical outcome in patients with non-affective psychosis: a 3-year follow-up study

van der Meer FJ, Velthorst E Psychol Med 2015 Feb; PMID: 25654244 Abstract BACKGROUND: Prospective studies on the relationship between course of cannabis use and clinical outcome in patients with non-affective psychotic disorders are inconclusive. The current study examined whether (1) persistent, recently started, discontinued and non-cannabis-using patients with a psychotic disorder differed with regard to illness outcome at 3-year …

Childhood trauma and childhood urbanicity in relation to psychotic disorder

Frissen A, Lieverse R, Drukker M, van Winkel R, Delespaul P, Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2015 Apr; PMID: 25895686 Abstract BACKGROUND: Urban upbringing and childhood trauma are both associated with psychotic disorders. However, the association between childhood urbanicity and childhood trauma in psychosis is poorly understood. The urban environment could occasion a background of social adversity against which any effect …