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Biomedical subjects

John M Kane

Publications and source records attributed to John M Kane.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Randomized comparison of olanzapine versus risperidone for the treatment of first-episode schizophrenia: 4-month outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: The authors compared 4-month treatment outcomes for olanzapine versus risperidone in patients with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders. METHOD: One hundred twelve subjects (70% male; mean age=23.3 years [SD = 5.1]) with first-episode schizophrenia (75%), schizophreniform disorder (17%), or schizoaffective disorder (8%) were randomly assigned to treatment with olanzapine (2.5-20 mg/day) or risperidone (1-6 mg/day). RESULTS: Response rates did not significantly differ between olanzapine (43.7%, 95% CI=28.8%-58.6%) and risperidone (54.3%, 95% CI=39.9%-68.7%). Among those responding to treatment, more subjects in the olanzapine group (40.9%, 95% CI=16.8%-65.0%) than in the risperidone group (18.9%, 95% CI=0%-39.2%) had subsequent ratings not meeting response criteria. Negative symptom outcomes and measures of parkinsonism and akathisia did not differ between medications. Extrapyramidal symptom severity scores were 1.4 (95% CI=1.2-1.6) with risperidone and 1.2 (95% CI=1.0-1.4) with olanzapine. Significantly more weight gain occurred with olanzapine than with risperidone: the increase in weight at 4 months relative to baseline weight was 17.3% (95% CI=14.2%-20.5%) with olanzapine and 11.3% (95% CI=8.4%-14.3%) with risperidone. Body mass index at baseline and at 4 months was 24.3 (95% CI=22.8-25.7) versus 28.2 (95% CI=26.7-29.7) with olanzapine and 23.9 (95% CI=22.5-25.3) versus 26.7 (95% CI=25.2-28.2) with risperidone. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical outcomes with risperidone were equal to those with olanzapine, and response may be more stable. Olanzapine may have an advantage for motor side effects. Both medications caused substantial rapid weight gain, but weight gain was greater with olanzapine.

Adult↗

DRD2 promoter region variation as a predictor of sustained response to antipsychotic medication in first-episode schizophrenia patients.

OBJECTIVE: All antipsychotics act on the dopamine D(2) receptor. The present study extends prior pharmacogenetic investigations of the D(2) receptor gene (DRD2) by examining, in first-episode schizophrenia patients, promoter region variation as a predictor of response time to two first-line atypical antipsychotics. METHOD: Patients experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia (N=61) were genotyped for two DRD2 promoter region polymorphisms (A-241G and -141C Ins/Del) and were randomly assigned to receive 16 weeks of treatment with either risperidone or olanzapine. Time until sustained response (two consecutive ratings without significant positive symptoms) for rare allele carriers versus wild types was examined by using Kaplan-Meier curves. RESULTS: Relative to wild type homozygotes, G carriers (A-241G) exhibited a significantly faster time until response, whereas -141C Del carriers took a significantly longer time to respond. Diplotype analysis revealed similar results. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that variation in the D(2) receptor gene can, in part, explain variation in the timing of clinical response to antipsychotics in patients with first-episode schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗

Dysbindin genotype and negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Converging evidence has demonstrated an association between variants in the dysbindin gene (DTNBP1) and schizophrenia. Recently, a DTNBP1 risk haplotype, associated with both schizophrenia and neurocognitive dysfunction, has been identified. Because neurocognitive dysfunction is commonly accompanied by negative symptoms (avolition, alogia, and affective flattening) in schizophrenia, the authors hypothesized that the presence of the risk haplotype would be significantly associated with negative symptoms. METHOD: The authors tested for an association between a DTNBP1 risk haplotype and a lifetime history of negative symptoms in 181 Caucasian patients with schizophrenia. RESULTS: A significant association was found between the presence of the risk haplotype and negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the effect of DTNBP1 genetic variation may be associated with negative symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Adult↗

Comparison of treatment-emergent extrapyramidal symptoms in patients with bipolar mania or schizophrenia during olanzapine clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Previous research on pharmacotherapy with conventional antipsychotics has suggested that patients with affective disorders have higher rates of treatment-emergent extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) than patients with schizophrenia. It is not known whether this differential vulnerability holds true for treatment with atypical antipsychotics such as olanzapine. The present analysis retrospectively examined olanzapine clinical trial data for incidence of treatment-emergent EPS in patients with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. METHOD: Study participants were 4417 patients meeting DSM-III or DSM-IV criteria for either schizophrenia or bipolar mania participating in olanzapine clinical trials through July 31, 2001. Data were pooled across haloperidol-controlled trials and separately across placebo-controlled trials. Measures of EPS included rates of treatment-emergent EPS adverse event by type (i.e., dystonic, parkinsonian, or residual), Simpson-Angus Scale score mean change, rates of treatment-emergent parkinsonism, and rates of anticholinergic use. RESULTS: Consistent with prior research, haloperidol-treated patients with bipolar disorder appeared to be more vulnerable to the development of EPS than those with schizophrenia. However, olanzapine-treated patients with bipolar disorder were no more likely to develop EPS than those with schizophrenia. CONCLUSION: Results support previous research regarding conventional antipsychotics and suggest that olanzapine therapy does not increase the risk of EPS for patients with bipolar disorder.

Adult↗

Metabolic syndrome and the risk of coronary heart disease in 367 patients treated with second-generation antipsychotic drugs.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between presence of metabolic syndrome and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) events (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death) in patients treated with second-generation antipsychotic medications. METHOD: 367 adults treated with second-generation antipsychotics randomly selected from consecutive psychiatric admissions to a single hospital between August 1, 2004, and March 1, 2005, underwent assessments evaluating the presence of metabolic syndrome. The 10-year risk of CHD events was calculated according to the Framingham scoring system for age, smoking, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, blood pressure, and history of diabetes and was compared in patients with and without the metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: Metabolic syndrome, present in 137 patients (37.3%), was associated with a significantly greater age- and race-adjusted 10-year risk of CHD events, i.e., 11.5% vs. 5.3% for men (risk ratio = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.88 to 2.48, p < .0001) and 4.5% vs. 2.3% for women (risk ratio = 1.94, 95% CI = 1.65 to 2.23, p = .0005). The increased risk of CHD events in patients with metabolic syndrome remained significant after the exclusion of diabetic patients. In a logistic regression analysis of variables independent of the Framingham scoring system, triglyceride levels (p < .0001), waist circumference (p = .035), and white race (p = .047) were significantly associated with the 10-year risk of CHD events (R2 = 0.134; p < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: These data confirm the high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients receiving second-generation anti-psychotics, indicate that metabolic syndrome doubles the 10-year risk of CHD events in this population, and emphasize the importance of the "hypertriglyceridemic waist" for the identification of psychiatric patients at high risk of CHD.

Adult↗

Review of treatments that can ameliorate nonadherence in patients with schizophrenia.

Nonadherence to medication is one of the major problems in treating patients with schizophrenia. Clinicians can use a variety of assessment strategies to identify patients who are nonadherent, although none of these is completely reliable. Interventions to improve adherence include psychosocial strategies, second-generation oral antipsychotics, and long-acting injectable antipsychotics. Because of the potential for reduced relapse and rehospitalization rates and the availability of second-generation antipsychotics in injectable form, a case is made for using long-acting injectable second-generation antipsychotics, when appropriate, to treat patients with schizophrenia.

Administration, Oral↗

COMT genetic variation confers risk for psychotic and affective disorders: a case control study.

BACKGROUND: Variation in the COMT gene has been implicated in a number of psychiatric disorders, including psychotic, affective and anxiety disorders. The majority of these studies have focused on the functional Val108/158Met polymorphism and yielded conflicting results, with limited studies examining the relationship between other polymorphisms, or haplotypes, and psychiatric illness. We hypothesized that COMT variation may confer a general risk for psychiatric disorders and have genotyped four COMT variants (Val158Met, rs737865, rs165599, and a SNP in the P2 promoter [-278A/G; rs2097603]) in 394 Caucasian cases and 467 controls. Cases included patients with schizophrenia (n = 196), schizoaffective disorder (n = 62), bipolar disorder (n = 82), major depression (n = 30), and patients diagnosed with either psychotic disorder NOS or depressive disorder NOS (n = 24). RESULTS: SNP rs2097603, the Val/Met variant and SNP rs165599 were significantly associated (p = 0.004; p = 0.05; p = 0.035) with a broad "all affected" diagnosis. Haplotype analysis revealed a potentially protective G-A-A-A haplotype haplotype (-278A/G; rs737865; Val108/158Met; rs165599), which was significantly underrepresented in this group (p = 0.0033) and contained the opposite alleles of the risk haplotype previously described by Shifman et al. Analysis of diagnostic subgroups within the "all affecteds group" showed an association of COMT in patients with psychotic disorders as well as in cases with affective illness although the associated variants differed. The protective haplotype remained significantly underrepresented in most of these subgroups. CONCLUSION: Our results support the view that COMT variation provides a weak general predisposition to neuropsychiatric disease including psychotic and affective disorders.

Journal Article↗

Remission in schizophrenia: Results from a 1-year study of long-acting risperidone injection.

PURPOSE: Although treatment advances have improved outcomes in schizophrenia, definitions of remission and recovery are still evolving. Recently proposed criteria for remission (mild or less on multiple core-symptom ratings for at least 6 months) have been applied to a 1-year study of long-acting risperidone injection. METHODS: In a 50-week, open-label trial, stable patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who received long-acting risperidone injection every 2 weeks were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Remission criteria for the PANSS were applied; global illness severity (Clinical Global Impressions) and patient-rated health status (36-Item Short-form Health Survey) were measured. RESULTS: Groups were identified by initial remission status (excluding the time component). Although considered clinically "stable," 68.2% (394/578) did not meet the symptom-severity component of remission criteria at baseline. Following long-acting, injectable risperidone treatment, 20.8% (82) of nonremitted patients achieved symptom remission for at least 6 months, with significant decreases in mean PANSS total and cluster scores (P < 0.0001) and significantly improved patient-rated health status (P < 0.0001). Percentages rated as not ill, very mild, or mild increased from 39% to 88%. Among 31.8% (184/578) of patients meeting the symptom-severity component of remission criteria at baseline, 84.8% (156) maintained these criteria at endpoint. CONCLUSIONS: Among previously "stable," nonremitted patients, many achieved symptom remission after long-acting, injectable risperidone treatment, with significant improvements in multiple symptom domains and patient-rated health status. These results warrant further study as these remission criteria may represent a meaningful clinical endpoint and an important step towards functional recovery.

Adult↗

DISC1 and neurocognitive function in schizophrenia.

We recently reported an association between DISC1 and schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder. Convergent evidence suggests that DISC1 has a direct effect on central nervous system functioning. However, there is a paucity of data investigating the effects of DISC1 on neurocognition. Thus, we analyzed the relationship between five single-nucleotide polymorphisms that influenced risk for schizophrenia in our previous study and neurocognition in 250 patients with schizophrenia. DISC1 genotype was related to neurocognitive performance on measures of rapid visual search and verbal working memory, when controlling for age and premorbid intellectual capacity, and explained 3%-4% of the variance. These data suggest that DISC1 is associated with neurocognitive functioning in schizophrenia.

Adult↗

Pharmacological treatments for first-episode schizophrenia.

Studies with first-episode populations offer the unique opportunity to examine the effectiveness and side effects of medications without the confounding effects of prior medication use. This review focuses upon studies of (1) treatment of the initial episode, (2) maintenance treatment issues, (3) recovery, and (4) side effects. Response rates for the initial episode are high with both conventional and new-generation antipsychotics. However, we lack data directly comparing the new-generation agents with one another for treatment of the initial episode, and data about options for patients with treatment resistance at illness onset are very limited. With the most commonly used pharmacological therapies, the course of early-phase schizophrenia is characterized by repeated relapses and a low rate of recovery. Medication treatment is also associated with a variety of side effects. Of particular concern for treatment of first-episode patients are the metabolic side effects with the new-generation antipsychotics because they occur rapidly, are very distressful to adolescents and young adults, and have long-term medical consequences. Available data support maintenance treatment to prevent relapse, but questions remain about the optimal duration of maintenance treatment, whether there are differences among the new-generation agents for maintenance treatment, and balancing the benefits of maintenance antipsychotics with their long-term side effects.

Adolescent↗

What does the PANSS mean?

OBJECTIVE: Despite the frequent use of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for rating the symptoms of schizophrenia, the clinical meaning of its total score and of the cut-offs that are used to define treatment response (e.g. at least 20% or 50% reduction of the baseline score) are as yet unclear. We therefore compared the PANSS with simultaneous ratings of Clinical Global Impressions (CGI). METHOD: PANSS and CGI ratings at baseline (n = 4091), and after one, two, four and six weeks of treatment taken from a pooled database of seven pivotal, multi-center antipsychotic drug trials on olanzapine or amisulpride in patients with exacerbations of schizophrenia were compared using equipercentile linking. RESULTS: Being considered "mildly ill" according to the CGI approximately corresponded to a PANSS total score of 58, "moderately ill" to a PANSS of 75, "markedly ill" to a PANSS of 95 and severely ill to a PANSS of 116. To be "minimally improved" according to the CGI score was associated with a mean percentage PANSS reduction of 19%, 23%, 26% and 28% at weeks 1, 2, 4 and 6, respectively. The corresponding figures for a CGI rating "much improved" were 40%, 45%, 51% and 53%. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide a better framework for understanding the clinical meaning of the PANSS total score in drug trials of schizophrenia patients with acute exacerbations. Such studies may ideally use at least a 50% reduction from baseline cut-off to define response rather than lower thresholds. In treatment resistant populations, however, even a small improvement can be important, so that a 25% cut-off might be appropriate.

Adult↗

Early-onset hypothesis of antipsychotic drug action: a hypothesis tested, confirmed and extended.

BACKGROUND: A recent meta-analysis rejected the "delayed onset of antipsychotic action hypothesis" that had been described in textbooks for decades. Since meta-analyses are prone to a number of methodological problems, we attempted a replication by a) using a large database of individual patient data rather than meta-analysis, b) including another antipsychotic and c) extending the analysis from four weeks to one year. METHODS: We pooled the data of seven randomized trials involving amisulpride. The data included 1708 patients with schizophrenia and positive symptoms and we examined the incremental percentage Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) reduction over time. RESULTS: The "early onset of antipsychotic action hypothesis" was confirmed, as the reduction of overall and positive symptoms until week two was larger than the additional reduction until week four (p<.0001). Furthermore, in a subset with long-term data (n=748) approximately 68% of the mean BPRS change at one year was already achieved at four weeks in the observed cases. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial amount of the antipsychotic drug effect seems to occur during the first weeks of treatment. Subsequent analyses are needed to establish how long an antipsychotic should be tried before it is considered ineffective and alternative strategies implemented.

Amisulpride↗

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a preliminary diffusion tensor imaging study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore whether there are white matter (WM) abnormalities in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using diffusion tensor imaging. Based upon the literature, we predicted decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) findings in the frontal and cerebellar regions. METHODS: Eighteen patients with ADHD and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers received DTI assessments. Fractional anisotropy maps of WM were compared between groups with a voxelwise analysis after intersubject registration to Talairach space. RESULTS: Children with ADHD had decreased FA in areas that have been implicated in the pathophysiology of ADHD: right premotor, right striatal, right cerebral peduncle, left middle cerebellar peduncle, left cerebellum, and left parieto-occipital areas. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data support the hypothesis that alterations in brain WM integrity in frontal and cerebellar regions occur in ADHD. The pattern of decreased FA might implicate the corticopontocerebellar circuit in the pathophysiology of ADHD.

Anisotropy↗

White matter abnormalities in early-onset schizophrenia: a voxel-based diffusion tensor imaging study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate abnormalities in the structural integrity of brain white matter as suggested by diffusion tensor imaging in adolescents with early-onset schizophrenia (onset of psychosis by age 18). METHOD: Twenty-six patients with schizophrenia and 34 age- and gender-matched healthy volunteers received diffusion tensor imaging and structural magnetic resonance imaging examinations. Fractional anisotropy maps were compared between groups in the white matter using a voxelwise analysis after intersubject registration to Talairach space. RESULTS: Compared with healthy volunteers, patients demonstrated lower fractional anisotropy values in the left anterior cingulate region in close proximity to the caudate nucleus (95% confidence interval of schizophrenic-healthy: -66 to -20). Using regression analysis, the rate of change in fractional anisotropy differed significantly between groups in this region across the age span examined (10-20 years), after adjusting for group differences in premorbid intellectual capacity and parental socioeconomic status. There were no areas of significantly higher fractional anisotropy in patients compared with healthy volunteers. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that early-onset schizophrenia is associated with a disruption in the structural integrity of white matter tracts in the anterior cingulate region. These structural abnormalities may contribute to the deficits in motivation, attention, memory, and higher executive functions in adolescents with schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗