Patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP) report deficits in social support (SS) and diminished and less satisfactory social networks than healthy controls (HC). These SS difficulties are linked ...with symptomatology. The study objectives were to: (a) compare perceived SS between patients with FEP and HC; (b) study sex differences regarding perceived SS in patients with FEP and HC; and (c) explore which sociodemographic, clinical and psychosocial variables are related to perceived SS in the onset of FEP. A total of 146 participants were included: 76 patients with FEP (24 females, 52 males) and 70 HC (20 females, 50 males). Perceived SS was assessed with the DUKE-UNK instrument, which is divided into two subscales: confidant support (CS) and affective support (AS). Significant differences regarding perceived SS were observed between the samples. No sex differences were found concerning perceived SS in each group. For the group with FEP, more years of education, less anxiety/depressive symptoms and better functioning were the most relevant variables for more overall perceived SS and perceived CS. Also, less suicidal risk was the only important indicator for more perceived AS. Interventions in perceived SS could contribute to a good evolution of FEP.
•Significant differences regarding perceived SS were observed between the samples.•No sex differences were found concerning perceived SS in each group.•In FEP, years of education was the most relevant variable for perceived SS and CS.•In FEP, suicidal risk was the only important indicator for perceived AS.
The importance of depression in adult people with first-episode psychosis (FEP) has been demonstrated. However, it has hardly been studied in children and adolescents. There is a need to broaden ...knowledge of the relationship between psychotic symptoms and specific depression symptomatology. The aims of study were (a) to examine the frequency of presence and type of depressive symptoms in early onset FEP, and (b) to assess the relationship between depressive symptoms and psychotic symptomatology, and specifically negative symptoms. An observational cross-sectional study was performed in 62 FEP cases. Inclusion criteria were two or more psychotic symptoms, age 7–17 years old, first mental health service consultation, and fewer than 6 months from the first contact with the service. Participants were assessed with clinical and socio–demographic questionnaires: the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the Children Depression Inventory (CDI). A Student
t
test was performed to compare psychotic symptoms in both groups: presence of depression and the absence of depression. A Pearson correlation was performed in order to relate subscales of the PANSS and each of the depression subscales and factors, as well the relation between negative and depressive symptoms. Our results show that a high percentage of people with an early onset of a FEP scored positively for depression. The most prevalent depressive symptoms were associated with schooling. The presence of depression was associated with negative, affective, and excited symptoms. Self-esteem, school problems, negative affect, and biological dysregulation were associated with psychotic symptoms. Finally, depressive items related to social functioning were more closely associated with negative symptoms of the PANSS. In conclusion, owing to the high incidence of depression in FEP in those suffering early onset of psychosis, there is a need for instruments to measure the depression more specifically in children and adolescent, and to uncover the clinical characteristics of depression in this population.
•First episode drug-naïve psychotic patients had significantly elevated prolactin levels compared to healthy controls.•Significant differences in prolactin levels between men and women were not ...observed in patients or controls.•These results suggest that treatment with antipsychotic medications that do not elevate prolactin may be worth considering for first episode patients with elevated premedication prolactin levels, as suggested by previous authors.
Recent studies have found hyperprolactinemia in first episode psychotic patients that had not previously received antipsychotic treatment (drug-naïve). Our goal was to learn whether there were differences in baseline prolactin concentrations between drug-naïve psychotic patients and healthy controls, as well as to study possible gender differences in the prolactin elevation. A cross-sectional study was conducted that included 61 drug-naïve psychosis patients and 45 healthy controls (aged between 14-55 years old). A blood sample was extracted between 8 and 10 a.m. Prolactin levels and TSH were determined. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was conducted across the sample. This study showed significantly higher levels of prolactin in drug-naïve patients compared to healthy controls. These results were maintained after controlling prolactin levels for sex, age, THC consumption, baseline TSH, and PSS. A significant correlation between prolactin and PSS was not observed. Significant differences in prolactin levels between men and women were not observed. These results are clinically important because if elevated baseline prolactin levels are detected in these patients, it will be necessary to initiate neuroleptics that do not increase this hormone. There was no evidence that stress was related to an increase in prolactin at the onset of psychosis.
To study the prevalence and the type of childhood trauma (CT) in a first-episode psychosis (FEP) cohort and in a healthy control (HC) sample. To study which clinical and sociodemographic variables in ...the onset of the FEP are related to having suffered some traumatic experience in childhood.
100 FEP patients and 94 HC participated in the study. The Childhood Traumatic Questionnaire (CTQ) was used to evaluate CT. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Personal and Social Performance (PSP), the Suicide Risk Scale of Plutchik (SRSP), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were also administered.
61% of FEP patients and 17% of HC reported having experienced some kind of CT. FEP showed more CT than controls in all subscales, except in sexual abuse. The most frequent CT was emotional abuse. For the FEP group, younger age, more years of education, have a first-degree family history, more positive and negative symptoms, more perceived stress and more personal and social functioning were the variables more influenced by having suffered some kind of CT.
There is a high prevalence of CT in FEP patients. Having a first-degree family history of mental illness, more positive symptoms, and more perception of stress at the time of hospital admission were related to having suffered CT. More research is needed to find out the best way to detect CT and its role in psychosis to be able to implement interventions to improve the evolution of these patients.
Aims
to study the differences in cognitive functioning in patients and controls. In addition, study the influence of symptoms, cannabis consumption, chlorpromazine doses, DUP and IQ in cognitive ...performance in patients, both in the total sample and divided by gender.
Methods
70 first episode psychosis patients and 63 healthy controls (HC) participated in the study and were assessed with the MATRICS battery and the Vocabulary subtest of WAIS‐IV. Symptoms in FEP patients were evaluated with the Emsley factors of the PANSS scale.
Results
patients showed lower scores than controls in all cognitive domains studied. There were no significant differences between FEP men and FEP women, but we found gender differences in favour of women in processing speed, working memory and composite total scored domains in the HC group. Finally, symptoms and Chlorpromazine doses showed an influence on cognitive performance in the total FEP sample. When splitting the sample by gender, positive symptoms may be more detrimental to women's cognitive functioning, while disorganized symptoms may play the most important role in cognitive performance in men.
Conclusions
patients showed worse cognitive performance in all cognitive domains compared to healthy controls. In our FEP sample, gender does not seem to influence cognitive performance measured with the MATRICS. Severity of symptoms influences positively in cognitive performance. The dose of Chlorpromazine and symptoms are influential variables to be taken into account in cognition rehabilitation programs.
This study was carried out on a finely disseminated gold-bearing ore from Kaymaz, Turkey. The main objective was to determine the mechanism of reaction between thiourea and Fe
3+ in the thiourea ...leaching of gold. Thiourea consumption levels were also examined during the leaching operations for different leaching parameters, i.e., molar ratio of ferric sulfate/thiourea, pH, and temperature. The leaching using the thiourea process was compared with cyanidation. In optimum leach conditions, 85.8% gold extraction was obtained with feed of −53 μm particle size in 6 h.
