Thomas Wobrock

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..In conclusion, prefrontal hypogyrification in OCD patients may be a structural correlate of the impairment in executive function of this patient group and may point to a neurodevelopmental origin of this disease...

..Studies on cortical excitability comparing SZ patients with and without comorbid substance abuse are lacking...

..Carefully used, the use of quality indicators and improved guideline adherence can address suboptimal clinical outcomes, reduce practice variations, and narrow the gap between optimal and routine care...

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..We conclude that neurocognitive performance was influenced by antiviral IFN-alpha-based combination treatment only in single domains and not to a clinically relevant extent in contrast to the significant worsening of depression...

..In conclusion, reduced maximal area of ALIC, which can be interpreted as a disturbance of fronto-thalamic connectivity, is associated with poor outcome during the 1 year course of first-episode schizophrenia...

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..It should be analyzed in further studies with larger sample sizes, if complete brain regeneration is possible maintaining abstinence over a longer period...

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..A major aim of the German Society of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Nervous Diseases (DGPPN) is to assure the quality of inpatient and outpatient care of the mentally ill by developing evidence-based consensus guidelines...

..In conclusion, these results may suggest a cognitive endophenotype in schizophrenia and underline the role of the prefrontal cortex in schizophrenic pathophysiology...

..To detect volumetric changes in ALIC, including the influence of genetic factors, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study of families affected with schizophrenia was performed...

..The early initiation of treatment with antidepressants, depending on the patient's psychopathology, as well as add-on medication with anti-craving agents should be considered...

..BDNF genotype had a numerical, but nonsignificant effect on verbal memory performance. These findings provide first in vivo evidence for an effect of the functional BDNF val66met polymorphism on the glutamate system in human hippocampus...

..However, there have been no previous studies investigating cortical excitability with particular regard to intracortical inhibitory networks in antipsychotic-naive subjects at risk of developing first-episode psychosis...

..The lack of higher cognitive disturbance in young schizophrenic patients with comorbid substance abuse may encourage clinicians to develop integrated treatment programmes using cognitive strategies of drug therapy...

..However, glutamate-dependent long-term depression (LTD)-like cortical plasticity has not yet been investigated...

..Disturbances of N-methyl-d-aspartate, gamma-aminobutyric acid and dopamine receptors may account for this plasticity deficit. LTP-like plasticity deficits might be related to disturbed information processing in schizophrenia patients...

..We investigated planum temporale (PT) volume and asymmetry in 23 first-episode schizophrenia patients compared to healthy controls and found for the first time an in vivo volume asymmetry of PT to the right hemisphere...

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..This first part of the updated guidelines covers the general descriptions of antipsychotics and their side effects, the biological treatment of acute schizophrenia and the management of treatment-resistant schizophrenia...

..Additional treatment with antidepressants, depending on the patient's psychopathology, as well as with anti-craving agents should be considered...

..Dysfunctional N-methyl D-aspartate receptors or modulation of dopaminergic transmission can explain these findings. Nevertheless, the effects of antipsychotic medication still need to be considered...

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..These guidelines are primarily concerned with the biological treatment (including antipsychotic medication and other pharmacological treatment options) of adults suffering from schizophrenia...

..The aim of this randomized, controlled, multisite trial was to evaluate the efficacy of combined treatment with integrative behaviour therapy (IBT) and acamprosate on drinking behaviour in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients...

..The nonexistence of a pronounced similarity in MZ twins compared to DZ twins concerning prefrontal GI raises questions about the extent of genetic influence on GI...

..The SNAP-25 genotype may modulate synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis in the left hippocampus, and altered NAA/Cho ratio may be an indicator for this genetic modulation of neuronal function in the hippocampus...

..However, in our study this beneficial effect was restricted to subjects with pronounced negative symptoms. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION INFORMATION: ClinicalTrial.gov Identifier: NCT00169689, http://www.clinicaltrials.gov...

..When the final results of the trial are available, PREVENT will substantially expand the current limited evidence base for best clinical practice in people at-risk (prodromal) of first-episode psychosis...

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..There is some weak evidence that cannabis abuse could affect brain structures in high-risk subjects, but replication of these studies is needed...

..In animal models of ischemia/hypoxia, NRG1 has been shown to act as a therapeutic, neuroprotective agent and should be investigated in more detail in transgenic animal models...

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..The outlined pathophysiological hypotheses are used to discuss possible causal pharmacological treatment options...

..Studies on cortical excitability comparing these two diseases directly are lacking...

..This is the first fMRI study that has systematically investigated this topic within a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind design, contrasting the effects in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls...

..Nevertheless, core guideline recommendations should be adapted to regional conditions using available tools for adaptation...

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..To evaluate the symptomatic remission criterion in clinical practice and to determine predictors for achieving symptomatic remission, a 12-week non-interventional study (NIS) with quetiapine was conducted in Germany...

..Main limitations of the trial are the potential influence of antipsychotic dosage changes and the difficulty to ensure adequate blinding...

..Nefazodone might even increase the risk of consuming a larger amount of ethanol per relapse in a subset of patients. CBT as performed in this study was associated with little additional benefit compared with structured GC...