Schizophrenia News

A combination of olanzapine and samidorphan demonstrated clinically significant efficacy improvements compared with placebo among adults with acutely exacerbated schizophrenia, according to results of the randomized, phase 3 ENLIGHTEN-1 study published in Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. The treatment, ALKS 3831 (Alkermes), also appeared well-tolerated.

Childhood psychotic experiences predict use of mental health services and psychotropic medications during adolescence, according to results of a longitudinal register-based follow-up study conducted in Denmark and published in American Journal of Psychiatry.

Varenicline did not appear associated with increased risk for cardiovascular or neuropsychiatric hospitalization compared with nicotine replacement therapies, according to a retrospective new-user cohort study published in Addiction.

Antipsychotic medication may alter brain structure, according to study findings published in JAMA Psychiatry.

An individualized treatment rule may increase the treatment success rate of patients with first-episode schizophrenia, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open. However, researchers noted the necessity of a clinical trial and replication of these results with an expanded predictor set before clinical implementation.

Researchers have found evidence countering the hypothesis that a long duration of untreated psychosis is associated with “insidious, severe psychotic disorder,” as well as against the toxicity of untreated psychosis, according to study findings published in American Journal of Psychiatry.

Severe infections may increase the risk for developing substance-induced psychosis, according to a study conducted in Denmark and published in American Journal of Psychiatry.

Researchers have identified psychosis subgroups that may inform ongoing efforts to redefine psychosis taxonomy using updated criteria, according to results of a longitudinal cohort study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

The FDA issued a new safety communication announcing a strengthened warning about the risks of untreated constipation among patients who receive clozapine.

Researchers have found lower levels of a protein associated with neural connections in the living brains of people with schizophrenia, according to results of parallel clinical and preclinical studies published in Nature Communications.