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Symptomatic remission and neurocognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2011

A. Hofer ,
T. Bodner ,
A. Kaufmann ,
G. Kemmler ,
U. Mattarei ,
N. M. Pfaffenberger ,
M. A. Rettenbacher ,
E. Trebo ,
N. Yalcin  and
W. W. Fleischhacker
A. Hofer*
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Biological Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
T. Bodner
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Neurology, Innsbruck, Austria
A. Kaufmann
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Biological Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
G. Kemmler
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, General and Social Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
U. Mattarei
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Biological Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
N. M. Pfaffenberger
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, General and Social Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
M. A. Rettenbacher
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Biological Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
E. Trebo
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, General and Social Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
N. Yalcin
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Biological Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
W. W. Fleischhacker
Affiliation:
Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Biological Psychiatry Division, Innsbruck, Austria
*
*Address for correspondence: A. Hofer, M.D., Medical University Innsbruck, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. (Email: alex.hofer@uki.at)
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Abstract

Background

A cross-sectional study was conducted in participants with schizophrenia to explore a potential association between the patients' remission status and neurocognitive functioning and to examine whether these factors have an impact on functional outcome.

Method

Psychopathological symptoms were rated by means of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale with symptom remission being assessed by applying the severity component of the recently proposed remission criteria. Tests for the cognitive battery were selected to cover domains known to be impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Next to pre-morbid intelligence, attention performance, executive functioning, verbal fluency, verbal learning and memory, working memory and visual memory were assessed. The joint effect of remission status and neurocognitive functioning on treatment outcome was investigated by logistic regression analysis.

Results

Out of 140 patients included in the study, 62 were symptomatically remitted. Mean age, education and sex distribution were comparable in remitted and non-remitted patients. Remitted patients showed significantly higher values on tests of verbal fluency, alertness and optical vigilance. Both symptomatic remission as well as performance on tests of working memory and verbal memory had a significant effect on the patients' employment status.

Conclusions

In the present study neuropsychological measures of frontal lobe functioning were associated with symptomatic remission from schizophrenia. In addition, both symptomatic remission and performance on tests of working memory and verbal memory had a significant effect on the patients' employment status. Longitudinal follow-up data are needed to determine how the associations of these determinants of functional outcome interact and change over time.

Keywords

Neurocognitionremissionschizophrenia
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 41 , Issue 10 , October 2011 , pp. 2131 - 2139
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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