Worsening of Symptoms Prevented by Early Detection

From the July 4th edition of Psychiatric News:

By Mark Moran

Negative symptoms such as cognitive deficits and lack of affect and volition have long been considered unmodifiable and appear to represent core neurobiological deficits of schizophrenia.

Reducing the duration of untreated acute psychosis in first-episode patients appears to prevent the worsening of negative symptoms—such as cognitive deficits and lack of volition, among others—at two-year follow-up.

That finding, from analysis of a public health intervention in Norway, suggests that early identification and treatment of acute psychotic symptoms may affect the core neurobiological deficit process of schizophrenia, and through this alter the course and prognosis for the better.

To read the entire article, click here.

Also see:
Prevention of Negative Symptom Psychopathologies in First-Episode Schizophrenia: Two-Year Effects of Reducing the Duration of Untreated Psychosis.