Schizophrenia is associated with working memory (WM), executive dysfunction and access visual WM dysfunctions among patients with paranoid schizophrenia (PSz).

We examined 89 patients (41.35 ± 11.52 years old, 65 males, 24 females, 15 with basic, 52 with middle and 22 with high formal education) with PSz (65% with prevalence of positive and 31 of negative syndromes) by Benton visual retention test (BVRT, var.A and E).

The average number of correct performed items was 3.12 ± 1.1.83, the average errors, 13.04 ± 3.70 (6.51 ± 3.05 at left and 5.35 ± 2.30 at right visual field (VF)). Females had more corrects (P = 0.0256). Education is associated with less errors and more corrects. Patients with prevalence of negative syndromes showed more errors at left VF than those with positive, although the total number of errors and corrects were similar. Ageing was not directly associated with total number of corrects and errors. Twenty-three percent of our patients had addictions, 52% had omissions, 96% distortions (average 4.12 ± 2.31), 78% perseverations, 79% rotations, 83% misplacements and 61% size errors. Horizontal displacements were obtained from 42%.

Visual WM dysfunction is frequent among patients with PSz. Female sex and high education are associated with better test performances. Negative syndromes are related with high number of errors at left VF, but not with total numbers of corrects and errors. We suggest horizontal displacement as specific error among patients with PSz.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Hypothyroidism psychocognitive key features may include melancholia, memory impairment, depression and dementia which could be misdiagnosed as a psychiatric disorder.

To study the incidence of hypothyroidism in psychiatric patients.

This retrospective study included 232 psychiatric patients with mean age of 43.39 ± 10 years old weight mean of 79.81 ± 19.07 kg, BIM of 29.55 ± 6.83, enrolled in a public mental health service.

Twenty point twenty-one percent (39) patients presented hypothyroidism with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels above 5 mIU/L and Free T4 levels below 0.7 ng/dl.

Comparing the incidence of hypothyroidism in Brazilian population estimated rate of until 10% [1] with this psychiatric patients population we observed a significant difference with p value of 2.28 E-6. Neuroleptics 92%(36), biperiden 62%(24) and benzodiazepines 38% (15) were the most frequent prescribed drugs for these hypothyroidism patients.

Significant difference in the incidence of hypothyroidism between general Brazilian population and the studied psychiatric patients was observed [2,3].

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The average length of stay in Japan at psychiatric hospital is 292 days. In recent years, measures to shorten the hospitalisation period are being promoted.

To understand patients who were discharged from emergency ward/acute psychiatric care units the needs post-discharge, in order to improve the quality of psychiatric nursing care at the psychiatric out patient care.

Sixty-two patients who have been hospitalised in emergency ward/acute psychiatric care units, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and mood disorders, and currently visiting the outpatient department of psychiatric care were selected as the subject. Semi-structured interviews were conducted.

The issues that patients faced post-discharged were;

– daily life issues: how to support themselves, how to cook, what to eat, and how to sleep;

– relationship with families and supporters;

– concerns of their conditions such as anxiety, restlessness, disaffection, loneliness, isolated feeling, drowsiness. Patients consulted their family members, their doctors, or professionals other than doctors.

The needs for the support for patients who recently discharged from an acute psychiatric ward were high, with the instability of the patient as well as the possibility of worsening their symptoms. There was a high demand for professionals other than a doctor as a consultant, given the limited consulting resources the patients have. The patients’ concerns post-discharge varied widely, focusing mainly on their daily lives. Support system, including monitoring, is necessary during early stages of discharge.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Steroid psychosis still presents many unsettled clinical aspects. Despite several reviews and case reports are available, modes of onset and recovery need a more accurate description. We will focus on a 53-year-old woman who was hospitalized against her will because of her agitated psychotic state. Her symptoms were indicative of an acute psychotic disorder resulting from the use of corticosteroids. We considered it important to report this case because corticosteroids have been widely prescribed since about 1950 to treat a broad spectrum of somatic illnesses and to emphasize the relevance of the dose of steroids in this case.

We describe a case of substance-induced psychotic disorder resulting from corticosteroids administration and we review the scientific literature about this topic.

To obtain more information about the incidence of steroid-induced psychotic symptoms, the relation between the type of steroids, its dose and the clinical presentation, the most important risk factors and how to prevent psychotic episodes during steroids-treatment.

After discussing the case, we studied the literature systematically using official medical browsers.

Very little reliable evidence has been available relating to steroid-induced psychosis.

There is much to learn about adverse psychiatric reactions to corticosteroid treatment. It should be improved awareness of the limited available knowledge and to stimulate research aimed at improved methods of prevention, recognition and treatment.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Recent research has suggested a dual impact of obsessive-compulsive dimension on functioning in schizophrenia with a gradual transition from an improving to a worsening effect depending on obsessive-compulsive symptom (OCS) severity (from mild to moderate-severe). Aim of the present study was to investigate whether this varying effect of OCS on functioning might be mediated or moderated by schizophrenia symptom dimensions or occur independently.

Seventy-five patients affected by schizophrenia were administered the SCID-IV, the PANSS, the YBOCS and the SOFAS.

The sample was divided into two groups according to the severity of OCS (absent/mild and moderate/high).

In both groups, a significant interaction between OCS and disorganization dimension was found: the dual effect of OCS on functioning occurred only among patients with low disorganization symptoms while it was no more apparent at higher levels of disorganization (Figure 1).

Data suggest that in patients with schizophrenia, functioning at least in part depends on the interaction between disorganization and OCS. Particularly, mild OCS contributes to higher levels of functioning in patients with psychosis at low levels of disorganization. In keeping with the historical concept of “pseudoneurotic schizophrenia”, we speculate that obsessive dimension might have a pathoplastic influence in milder forms of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, balancing the effect of underlying low disorganization symptoms.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Clozapine and amisulpride are two effective antipsychotic and their combination often is used for treatment refractory people with schizophrenia, yet many patients partially respond. Clinical data and the recent literature suggest benefits with minocycline. in our study we adjunct minocycline in five schizophrenic patients and we observed them for a period of 6 months.

Our patients received adjunct minocycline (100 mg oral capsule twice daily).

Using the PANSS, we identified a statistically significant (P < 0.05) clinical improvement from the fourth week of treatment for positive mainly, and less for negative symptoms in all our patients. Global cognitive function did not differ, although there was a significant improvement in working memory favoring minocycline. Moreover there was a marked reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms.

Minocycline was well tolerated and no patient presented side effects.

Minocycline seems to help significantly schizophrenic patients who do not respond fully to their medication consisted of clozapine and amisulpride. Larger studies are needed to validate these findings.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Recent studies in the neurobiology of schizophrenia highlighted the role of neuropsychoendocrine activations as a consequence of psychostress followed by the activation of the HPA axis with an excess of endogenous cortisol. The relation endogenous cortisol–glutamatergic hyperactivation enhances the excito-toxic mechanisms and the cortical-subcortical alterations in schizophrenia.

We conducted a retrospective study on 40 patients, with ages between 25 and 55 years, admitted in the university clinic of Craiova between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015 for paranoid schizophrenia according to ICD-10 criteria and with positive history of psychotrauma and physical abuse in childhood and adolescence.

The frequency of psychotraumas, social stress and physical abuse in our group was significantly higher in women (63.33%), in patients with urban residence (80.00%) and age group 36–45 years (46.67). There was a pattern of residual defectuality reflected by positive symptoms (83.33%), alcohol abuse (80.00%), aggressive behavior (66.67%) and suicide attempts (30.00%). The poor course with minimal social functioning (GAFS < 40; 36.67%) was correlated with a high number of relapses and hospitalizations (> 9 hospitalizations; 43.33%), cognitive deficit (MMSE < 23; 76.67%). The psychosocial factors involved in the pathogenesis and course of schizophrenia were social stress (60.00%), physical abuse in childhood and adolescence (20.00%) and psychotraumas (20.00%).

Psychotrauma and physical abuse in childhood and adolescence and during the course of paranoid schizophrenia constitute a risk factor for a poor outcome with cognitive deterioration, aggressive and suicidal behavior that call for prophylactic measures and qualified psycho-social interventions associated to the pharmacological treatments.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Studies investigating attitudes of people with mental illness are scarce. The aim of the present study was to investigate person living with psychosis on their attitudes and perception towards the mental health professionals in contact with mental health services.

An in-depth interview was used to explore their lived experiences and attitude towards mental health professionals.

Both negative and positive attitudes were prevalent among the patients. Most negative attitudes concerned on not giving time, the MHPs are most interested in financial gains. They felt attitude changes according to diagnosis, psychosis perceived as diagnosis with violence; they are more interested in protecting themselves, perception that treating symptoms and not cause of illness. On the contrary, they felt positive on the relationship and time given to them.

Discussion and conclusions The PLWI's attitude to MHPs could be a product of the type of admission (forced upon), symptoms related or on the type of service settings. The present study is purely qualitative, single settings, could not be generalised. However it points on the need for sensitization of MHPs and relationship building oriented intervention.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Jealous delusional ideation appears in 7-14% of cases of Parkinson's disease. Treatment with dopaminomimetics drugs is a significant risk factor for psychosis. However, the most likely etiology of psychosis in these patients is a loss of central cholinergic function associated with age since described psychosis even before the introduction of the L-Dopamine. Cognitive impairment and sleep disorders are predictors of development of psychosis.

Present a clinical case of psychosis in Parkinson's disease and its treatment.

Reason for consultation. Patient diagnosed with Parkinson's disease with behavioral disorder and delusional.

The patient after antiparkinsonian medication has increased suspicion, self-referentiality, delusional jealousy ideation to her husband, delusional interpretations regarding somatic symptoms, insomnia and behavioral disorders with aggression.

Mother with Alzheimer's.

No contact with mental health.

Conscious, repetitive language, dysphoric mood with delusions of prejudice and jealousy.

Mixed insomnia.

Psychosis in Parkinson's disease.

Quetiapine 300 mg/day. Carbidopa 25 mg/L-dopa 100 mg: 1-0-1. On subsequent visits quetiapine was suspended and replaced by clozapine 200 mg/day.

The treatment of psychosis was effective with the use of quetiapine and subsequently clozapine with good tolerance and effectiveness. He also said lower antiparkinsonian medication.

Psychotic symptoms are the most common psychiatric clinic in Parkinson's disease. Often not enough antiparkinsonian dopaminomimetics reduced to control psychotic symptoms and use of antipsychotics is required. The use of antipsychotics in Parkinson's disease should be careful for the likely increase in motor clinical and increased mortality. The most useful, are especially quetiapine and clozapine atypical antipsychotics.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The majority of people with psychosis suffer from cognitive problems. These cognitive problems are among the most disabling features of the illness and have a negative effect on clinical outcome. Research has demonstrated that acetylcholine including muscarinic receptors play an important role in cognitive function. A post-mortem study in chronic patients with schizophrenia demonstrated a decrease of 75% of muscarinic M1 receptors.

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of M1 receptors in-vivo in brain and cognitive function in psychosis.

Thirty medication free patients with psychosis and 30 healthy controls matched for age, gender and IQ were included for 1) 1x IDEX Spect scan to determine M1 binding potential; 2) 2x fMRI scan using a visual memory task; 3) 2x MRS to determine choline concentrations; 2x CANTAB cognitive battery. Except for SPECT all subjects were tested twice, once with placebo and once with biperiden M1 antagonist.

Patients demonstrated a significant negative correlation between M1 binding potential and cognitive impairments and negative symptom scores on PANSS. Following biperiden challenge, performance on verbal learning and memory was worse. Hippocampal activity was larger during a visual memory task in patients.

These results support a role for the M1 receptor in cognitive function in psychosis.

The author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

A recent reviews of published researchers suggest, that up to 25% of schizophrenia patients suffer from obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCs) and about 12% fulfill the diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Recently, the interest in this issue has significantly increased, probably due to the finding, that second generation antipsychotics, especially clozapine, might induce or aggravate OCs.

The aim of our study was to investigate and clarify the literature data about the extent to which comorbid OCs affects the severity and course of schizophrenia.

The articles were identified by the keywords “schizophrenia comorbidity” and “obsessive compulsive disorder”, using the medline and web of science search. Additional information was obtained by studying the references of summaries of relevant articles.

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms or fully expressed obsessive-compulsive disorder leads to more severe overall psychopathology and poorer treatment outcomes in patients with schizophrenia. This comorbidity is accompanied by increased neurocognitive impairment, high levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidality, less favorable levels of social and vocational functioning, and greater social and health service utilization.

In clinical practice, schizophrenia patients should be carefully monitored for OCs, which may occur at any time during the schizophrenia disease. Early recognition and targeted treatment of this comorbidity reduce patient's distress; positively influence the course of illness and overall treatment outcome.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The most common comorbid disorder in schizophrenic patients is a social phobia. It is usually an unrecognized problem that may be associated with a high distortion in managing claims of life.

The aim of our study was to determine the extent to which comorbid social phobia affects the severity and course of schizophrenia.

The publications were identified in the database medline and web of science using the keywords “schizophrenia comorbidity” in combination with the terms “social phobia” or “social anxiety disorder”. Other relevant sources of information were obtained from the cited works by important articles.

The current state of research shows that the incidence of comorbid social phobia in psychotic disease states in the range from 11% to 36%. Social phobia in psychotic patients remains largely unrecognized. An untreated social phobia is associated with more severe psychotic symptoms, worse quality of life and lower self-esteem. It also increases the tendency to social isolation and overall worsens social adaptation. Patients with comorbid social phobia and schizophrenia have a higher amount of lifetime suicide attempts and often abuse alcohol or addictive substance.

Patients who have both schizophrenia and social phobia have a lower quality of life, impaired functioning in life, a higher incidence of suicide attempts and increased risk of relapse of psychosis. It is, therefore, necessary that physicians treating the patients with schizophrenia had in mind the possibility of the presence of comorbid social phobia, and in the case of its occurrence, they also treat it.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

schizoaffective disorder is a nosographic entity characterized by a combination of symptoms of schizophrenia with mood episodes. The fact that its diagnosis is difficult, and often oscillates between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder raises the problem of its care and the outcome of patients who suffers from it.

To evaluate the quality of life of treated patients with schizoaffective disorder.

This is a cross-sectional study realized at the psychiatric consultation of Mahdia hospital during a 6month period. Data were collected from patients and from their medical records using a predefined questionnaire.

A total of 52 patients were included, the average age was 38 years. The majority of patients (63.5%) were unemployed. The use of psychoactive substances was noted in 63.5% of patients. Multiple linear regression analysis allowed us to find that 12 factors were more significantly associated with impaired quality of life which were, in descending order of importance: the EAS score > 39, the EGF score ≤ 70, the null or partial adherence, the presence of side effects seriously affecting daily activity, the depressive subtype, the lack of employment, the socio-economic level, the lack of stable budgetary resources, an age > 60years, the widowed and divorced marital status, the PANSS score (≥ 45) and negative symptomatology (PANSS).

The diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder has a triple relevance: clinical, prognostic and therapeutic. Identifying a schizoaffective disorder and the risk factors that may affect the quality of life provides a significant practical impact for the patient's benefit.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The schizoaffective disorder is multifactorial. Several factors almost unquestioned, even indisputable, participate in the episodes’ decompensation and affect various fields: biological, pharmacological or neurobiochemical.

Draw up the sociodemographic and clinical profile of patients treated for schizoaffective disorder and determine the role of life events in the onset of the disorder.

This is a retrospective study of 52 patients hospitalized in the psychiatric department of Mahdia diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder according to DSM-IV-TR during the period from January 2014 until June 2014. The information was collected using a preset sheet with 35 items.

A total of 52 records was gathered. The average age was 38 years. The sample was predominantly male, of rural origin in 61.5% of cases. The level of education was low in 59.6% of cases. More than half were without profession and single in 46.2% of cases. The mean age at onset of the disorder was 25.2 years. The presence of life events preceding the onset of the disorder was noted in 22 patients, that to say, 42.3% of the sample. Family and emotional events were most frequently encountered with respective rates of 48.2 and 24.7%, followed by the professional events (20%) and social ones (6%).

Life events are due to chance but also to the environment. The complexity of the “event” concept was again underlined in a new perspective, breaking social rhythms.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Despite the assumption that the EEG parameters in schizophrenia may be predictive for the treatment outcome, there are only a small number of such studies present. We hypothesised that the characteristics of the changes in EEG rhythms during cognitive load might differ in the first episode of psychosis and remission being dependent on the stage of the illness.

The EEG rhyths spectral power (SP) in the resting state and their changes during the performance of spatial logical task in 25 first-episode psychosis patients (FEP) and same patients in remission (REM) after 6–18 months were analysed. Control group included healthy subjects matched with patient group by gender, age and years of education.

The resting state SP values did not differ in FEP and REM. When performing a task, FEP theta SP was decreased compared to the resting state values in F7, F8, P3, T6 sites (P < 0.05), while gamma2 SP was increased in Fz (P < 0.001) and Pz (P < 0.01). REM theta, alpha, and beta1 SP was decreased in the same way as in norm in all sites (P < 0.05). Gamma2 SP increase was found in sites Fp1, F8, Fz (P < 0.05). FEP theta and beta1 SP changes during cognitive load positively correlated with the PANSS scales (delusions, thought disorders, hallucinations). REM did not have significant correlations between SP and PANSS parameters.

The analysed REM EEG characteristics differ less from the norm than the FEP. Based on the results, the performance of the task is related to the stage of the illness.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Belief inflexibility (BI) has been considered as a crucial factor for delusional conviction, but less is known about other dimensions of delusional beliefs. Question has been raised regarding the extent to which BI distinguishes delusions from strongly held (non-deluded) personally meaningful beliefs.

We examined the association between BI and major dimensions of delusional beliefs/non-clinical personally meaningful beliefs, and compared results from two BI measures (Maudsley assessment of delusions schedule [MADS] and bias against disconfirmatory evidence [BADE] task).

Idiosyncratic delusional beliefs from 40 outpatients with non-affective psychosis and personally meaningful beliefs from 30 healthy controls were assessed in an interview. Belief dimensions (conviction, preoccupation, and distress) and BI were measured.

Compared with controls, patients reported higher levels of distress and preoccupation but a comparable level of conviction (3.30/4 vs. 3.00/4, t(66.967) = 1.928. P = n.s.). Patients exhibited lower belief flexibility than controls on MADS but not on BADE. In patients, delusional conviction was associated with lower flexibility on a MADS item (“possibility of being mistaken”: t(38) = 4.808, P < 001) and the BADE evidence integration index (r = 0.463, P = 01). In healthy controls, belief conviction was associated with lower flexibility on a MADS item (“reaction to hypothetical contradiction”: t(27) = 3.345, P=.002). Two-way ANOVA revealed that the association between possibility of being mistaken and conviction was stronger in patients than controls (F(1) = 6.718, P = 012). In both groups, BI on either measure did not correlate with distress or preoccupation.

BI was specifically associated with belief conviction. The association was significant for both groups, and was stronger in patients than controls.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.