Medscape (10/21, Swift Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reported, “Menopause appears to be an independent risk factor for relapse in women with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs),” investigators concluded after having “studied a cohort of close to 62,000 people with SSDs, stratifying individuals by sex and age.” The study revealed that beginning “between the ages of 45 and 50 years – when the menopausal transition is underway – women were more frequently hospitalized for psychosis compared with men and women younger than 45 years.” What’s more, the “protective effect of antipsychotic medication was highest in women younger than 45 years and lowest in women aged 45 years or older, even at higher doses.” The findings were published online Oct. 5 in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

According to the AP (10/22, Ungar), “a growing body of research shows that bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and the in-between diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder share common genetic underpinnings as well as overlapping symptoms and signs.” Some investigators, however, “while acknowledging common genetic underpinnings of bipolar, schizoaffective disorder and schizophrenia, are skeptical about framing them as on a psychosis continuum, particularly if that leads to changing categories” used “to diagnose people with each disorder.” Those experts “say the current criteria are useful in deciding treatment and care.”

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— “Genes link bipolar, schizophrenia, once thought unrelated “Laura Ungar , AP, October 22, 2022

MedPage Today (11/7, DePeau-Wilson) reported, “Using long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic therapies rather than oral agents for schizophrenia was tied to demographic and clinical factors, a single-center retrospective cohort study suggested.” Younger age “predicted which patients received LAI antipsychotic treatment,” and “length of first admission also predicted LAI use…said” one researcher. The findings of the 246-patient study were presented at the 2022 Neuroscience Education Institute Congress.

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USA Today (11/28, Ryu) reported, “Schizophrenia is a lifelong, psychotic disorder that affects fewer than 1% of the U.S. population, but is one of the most stigmatized mental illnesses,” affecting “how people think, feel and act.” While “people have also associated it with mass violence or shootings,” mental health clinicians “warn the relationship between schizophrenia and violence is often oversimplified and rarely ever causal.” Even though “it’s true that some may exhibit aggression or unpredictability when their symptoms go untreated or when combined with substance use, research has supported that most are not actually violent.” In fact, “serial killers are more likely to exhibit antisocial personality disorders (such as sociopathy or psychopathy), according to the American Psychiatric Association, and those with schizophrenia are at increased risk of becoming victims, rather than perpetrators, of violence.”

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— “Do you really know what schizophrenia is? Most people don’t. “Jenna Ryu, Jenna Ryu, November 28, 2022

MedPage Today (11/30, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “A simulated driving program reduced inattention and risk of crashing among teens with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “compared with conventional driver’s training, according to a small study” of 152 teens “that used a program combining computer-based and driving simulator training.” During the “15-minute simulated drives, teens in the training group had a mean of 16.5 long glances…from the road per drive compared with 28.0 long glances per drive in those who did not undergo the training at 1 month…and 15.7 versus 27.0 long glances, respectively, at 6 months…reported” investigators online in The New England Journal of Medicine. American Psychiatric Association Council on Children, Adolescents, and Their Families Chair Anish Dube, MD, MPH, who was not involved in the study, said, “Any kind of interventions that you have that are reducing or minimizing that risk of adverse events, I think these are steps in the right direction.”

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