Early Course of Schizophrenia

by Phil Harvey

Overview

New developments in the basic and clinical neurosciences have lead to important advances in our understanding of the events that occur between conception and birth that can influence schizophrenia. At the other end of the life span, some of the most exciting developments in years have recently been coming out of comprehensive studies of post-mortem studies of patients with schizophrenia. In the clinical domain, studies of first episode patients with schizophrenia are proliferating, at the same time as many research groups are performing comprehensive studies of patients with schizophrenia who are in the eighth decade of life or even older. Thus, many of the exciting new developments in research on schizophrenia are at the ends of the life span, suggesting that a wide-ranging treatment of schizophrenia in this framework will be very well accepted.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198568957
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	04/20/2006
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Clinical Neuroscience Research Centre, Dartford, Kent

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York

Table of Contents

Section I: Schizophrenia in the pre-morbid period
1. Prenatal events that influence schizophrenia, Ezra Susser & Mark G Opler
2. Interactions of genetic predispositions and intrauterine events, Tyrone D Cannon & Lauren M Ellman
3. Cognitive functioning before or at the onset of first episode, Michael Davidson & Abraham Reichenburg
Section II: Schizophrenia at the Time of the First Episode
4. Early onset schizophrenia: cognitive and clinical characteristics, Sophia Frangou
5. Brain imaging studies in childhood onset schizophrenia, Nitin Gogtay & Judith Rapoport
6. Neurocognitive deficits and first-episode schizophrenia:characterization and course, Irene M Bratti & Robert M Bilder
7. Adult onset schizophrenia: structural and functional brain abnormalities, Tonmoy Sharma & Veena Kumari
8. Diagnostic variability in the early course of schizophrenia, Evelyn J Bromet & Bushra Naz
9. Sex differences in schizophrenia: the case for developmental origins and etiological implications, Jill M Goldstein & Deborah J Walder
10. Late onset schizophrenia: characteristics of patients at the first episode, Philip D Harvey
Section III: Treatment of Early Schizophrenia
11. Prodromal period - pharmacological and behavioural interventions, Alison R Yung, Lisa J Phillips & Patrick McGorry
12. Treatment of schizophrenia at the first episode, Delbert Robinson
13. Treatment of late-onset schizophrenia, Dilip V Jeste, Gauri V Nayak, David P Folsom & Elizabeth W Twamley
14. Treatment of cognitive deficits in first episode psychosis, Richard S E Keefe & Joseph W Kang

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Michael Joel Schrift, DO, MA (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine)
Description: Over the past 20-plus years, there has been a paradigm shift in the prevailing view of mental illness in general and schizophrenia in particular. This view is that schizophrenia is a brain disease with etiological origins in the development of the nervous system. This conceptual change in the view of schizophrenia has redirected research efforts in the search for neurodevelopmental predictors, such as obstetrical complications and the prenatal exposure to toxins and infectious agents, as important factors implicated in raising the risk for schizophrenia. This excellent new book, written and edited by internationally recognized research scientists in this field, summarizes this body of literature and brings the reader up to date on the evidence for the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia and treatment issues during the first episode of the illness. This book is a welcome contribution to neuroscience and psychiatry.
Purpose: The purpose is to emphasize to the reader the multidisciplinary approach that will be required to prevent schizophrenia. The "integration of clinical findings, genetic data, and molecular neurobiology is critical, along with the development of appropriate technologies and statistical methods."
Audience: The intended audience includes psychiatrists, research psychologists, and trainees in psychiatry and cognitive neuroscience.
Features: Topics covered include premorbid factors such as prenatal events, genetic and intrauterine interactions, and premorbid cognitive functioning. Aspects of schizophrenia during the first episode are covered and include chapters on brain imaging, neurocognitive functioning, diagnostic variability, sex differences, and late-onset schizophrenia. The treatment of early schizophrenia is summarized and includes chapters on treatment during the prodromal period, during the first episode, in late-onset schizophrenia, and treatment of the cognitive deficits during the first episode. Each chapter ends with relevant and up-to-date citations of the literature and the book ends with a detailed and helpful index section.
Assessment: This is an interesting book addressing important issues regarding the etiology and treatment of this devastating illness (or set of illnesses). I highly recommend it!

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