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Studies show that psychiatric symptoms in adults and children are sometimes associated with serum neural autoantibodies. The significance of serum neural autoantibodies associated with psychiatric symptoms in children remains often unclear, but might be relevant for the extent and occurrence of psychiatric disease manifestation in later life, as well as therapy and outcome. For this narrative review, we sought articles listed in PubMed and published between 1988 and 2020 addressing the maternal–fetal transfer of neural autoantibodies and psychiatric disorders associated with serum neural autoantibodies. We identified six major subgroups of psychiatric disorders in children that are associated with serum neural autoantibodies: patients with attentional deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, psychosis and catatonia. Furthermore, we summarized study findings from maternal–fetal transfer of Contactin-associated protein-like 2, N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor and fetal brain autoantibodies associated with behavioral effects in animals and humans. We hypothesize that the maternal transfer of serum neuronal autoantibodies during or after birth could result (1) in the ignition of an autoimmune-mediated inflammation having neurodevelopmental consequences for their children (autoimmune-priming-attack hypothesis) and (2) has a potential impact on the later manifestation of psychiatric disorders. Through this narrative review, we propose a diagnostic pathway for the clinical diagnosis of a potentially autoimmune origin of psychiatric symptoms in children while considering recent guidelines.

Background In this non-interventional study, the functionality and well-being of patients with schizophrenia with aripiprazole once-monthly (AOM) was evaluated under real-life conditions in a naturalistic population. Methods This non-interventional, prospective, multicenter 6-month study included 242 predominantly symptomatically stable patients (mean age 43.1 ± 15.1 years, 55% male) who switched their treatment to AOM after 9.7 (± 22.3) months of oral treatment. Outcome parameters included functionality (Global Assessment of Functioning, GAF), patient’s wellbeing (WHO-5 Well-Being Index, WHO-5), and both patient’s and clinician’s assessment of efficacy and tolerability of AOM. Treatment emergent adverse events (TRAE) were also recorded. Results At baseline, the mean GAF score was 47.0 (±13.9), indicating that patients experienced serious impairment in functioning. A continuous increase to 60.2 (±17.0) during treatment was found, with a robust and significant increase already after 4 weeks. At study start, patients reported diminished wellbeing, with a mean score of 10.6 (±5.6) on the WHO-5 scale. During treatment, patient wellbeing increased continuously with strong and significant improvements even after 4 weeks and an overall improvement of 4.8 (±6.9) over the course of 6 months with an endpoint of 15.4 (±5.5). Stratification of these results showed that more pronounced effects were achieved in younger patients ≤35 years (p Conclusions Our results show a significant positive effect after initiation of AOM treatment in predominantly stable patients with schizophrenia on their functioning and wellbeing, which was even more pronounced in patients aged ≤35 years, thereby supporting previous randomized controlled findings under routine conditions in clinical practice.

Objectives Despite being a highly effective treatment, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is still stigmatized even among professionals. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with a positive attitude toward ECT among health care workers. Methods We investigated staff's attitude and their self-assessment of knowledge while introducing ECT in 3 German psychiatric clinics. Furthermore, we compared this data to that of a clinic where ECT has been applied with a long tradition. An anonymous questionnaire was answered by n = 182 employees in the ECT-introducing clinics (novices) and n = 68 employees in the clinic with a long history of ECT (experts). Results Irrespective of the clinical history, the majority of participants approved the application of ECT in their clinic. Factors associated with a positive attitude were (a) profession (physicians presented a more positive mindset about ECT than nursing staff), (b) subjective feeling of being adequately informed, and (c) having had contact to patients undergoing ECT. Interestingly, the general attitude toward ECT did not differ between subjects who reported to have seen an ECT and those who had not. Conclusions When introducing ECT as a new treatment into a clinic, formal information should be adapted to the needs of each profession with a special emphasis on nurses. To further increase acceptance, contact to ECT-experienced patients (professionals taught by patients) might result in a more positive attitude toward ECT than participation in an ECT treatment itself.

Objective The objective of the study was to investigate whether a combined intervention composed of early detection plus integrated care (EDIC) enhances outcomes in patients with early psychosis compared to standard care (SC). Methods ACCESS III is a prospective non-randomized historical control design 1-year study examining the efficacy of EDIC (n = 120) vs. SC (n = 105) in patients aged 12–29 years. Primary outcome was the rate of ≥6 months combined symptomatic and functional remission. Additional outcomes comprised the reduction of DUP and course of psychopathology, functioning, quality of life, and satisfaction with care. Results In observed cases, 48.9% in the EDIC and 15.2% in the SC group reached the primary endpoint. Remission was predicted by EDIC (OR = 6.8, CI: 3.15–14.53, P

Objective: The ACCESS treatment model offers assertive community treatment (ACT) embedded in an integrated care program to patients with severe psychotic disorders. Compared to standard care, it proved to be more effective in terms of service disengagement and other outcomes in patients with psychotic disorders over 12, 24, and 48 months. Many patients with severe mental disorders experience involuntary admissions which can be potentially traumatic. In this study, we assessed the effect of ACT on reducing involuntary admissions over an observation period of 4 years.Method: One hundred seventy-one patients treated in ACCESS were included in this study. The primary outcome was rate of involuntary admissions during 48 months. Secondary outcomes were differences between those with and without involuntary admissions in the 2 years prior to ACCESS regarding change of psychopathology, severity of illness, psychosocial functioning, quality of life, satisfaction with care, medication non-adherence, and service-disengagement.Results: Of 171 patients, 58 patients (33.9%) were involuntarily admitted to hospital in the past 2 years before entry. During the 4 years of treatment, 16 patients (9.4%) were involuntarily admitted to hospital which was a significantly lower rate compared to the 2 years before inclusion in ACCESS (p < .001). Comparing the two groups, larger improvements in severity of illness (p = .004) and functional status (p = .043) were detected in the group with no history of involuntary admissions. At 4-year follow-up, of the remaining patients, 69.2% (n = 81) were full adherent (p < .001), compared to 18.9% (n = 31) at baseline with no differences between the two groups over the study period (p = .25). Over 4 years, only 13 patients (13.2%) were service-disengaged due to non-practical reasons.Conclusions: In this long-term study, we were able to demonstrate a reduction in involuntary admissions in four treatment years compared to the 2 years prior to admission to the ACCESS model in patients with severe and mostly multiphase schizophrenia spectrum disorders and affective disorders with psychotic features. This may help prevent patients from suffering from a potentially traumatic experience during treatment in the psychiatric system.Clinical Trial Registration:www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT01888627.

Aim The Integrated Care in Early Psychosis (ACCESS III) Study examined the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a combined intervention consisting of strategies to improve early detection and quality of care (integrated care including therapeutic assertive community treatment) in adolescents and young adults in the early phase of a severe psychotic disorder from 2011 to 2014. Methods This is a prospective, single-centre, 1-year cohort study comparing an intervention condition (early detection plus integrated care, n = 120) to the historical control condition (standard care, SC, n = 105) for adolescents and young adults aged 12–29 years suffering from a severe, early-phase psychotic disorder (i.e. within 2 years of treatment). Results Primary outcome is the rate of combined symptomatic (i.e. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) criteria) and functional (i.e. Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) ≥ 60 points criterion) remission over at least 6 months at study endpoint. Secondary outcome comprises the comparison of the reduction in the duration of untreated psychosis within the 4-year study duration between integrated care and SC, course of psychopathology, functioning, quality of life, satisfaction with care, cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in comparison to a historical control group. Conclusion To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study assessing the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a combined intervention consisting of early detection strategies and strategies to improve quality of care in both adolescents and young adults with early-phase psychosis. The results will be published in 2016.

Background In this study, the treatment of schizophrenia patients with aripiprazole once-monthly (AOM) was evaluated under real-life conditions in a naturalistic setting. Methods This multicenter, prospective, non-interventional study included 242 patients (age = 43.1 ± 15.1 years, 55.0% male) who were monitored during 6 months of AOM treatment. Endpoints included measurements of psychopathology (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, BPRS) and severity of illness scales (Clinical Global Impressions-Severity, CGI-S, and -Improvement, CGI-I). Furthermore, treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were recorded. Results At baseline, the mean BPRS total score was 54.1 ± 15.6, the mean CGI-S was 4.8 ± 0.8 and the most frequent illness category was ‘markedly ill’ (41.7%). Patients had been pretreated with oral aripiprazole for a mean duration of 9.7 months (SD: 22.3) and 87.9% were deemed by their clinician as “clinically stable” and for a mean of 5.9 months. The difference in global BPRS after 6 months was − 13.8 (SD: 16.0; 95% CI: [− 15.9; − 11.7]; p

OBJECTIVE The ACCESS treatment model offers assertive community treatment embedded in an integrated care program to patients with psychoses. Compared to standard care and within a controlled study, it proved to be more effective in terms of service disengagement and illness outcomes in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders over 12 months. ACCESS was implemented into clinical routine and its effectiveness assessed over 24 months in severe schizophrenia spectrum disorders and bipolar I disorder with psychotic features (DSM-IV) in a cohort study. METHOD All 115 patients treated in ACCESS (from May 2007 to October 2009) were included in the ACCESS II study. The primary outcome was rate of service disengagement. Secondary outcomes were change of psychopathology, severity of illness, psychosocial functioning, quality of life, satisfaction with care, medication nonadherence, length of hospital stay, and rates of involuntary hospitalization. RESULTS Only 4 patients (3.4%) disengaged with the service. Another 11 (9.6%) left because they moved outside the catchment area. Patients received a mean of 1.6 outpatient contacts per week. Involuntary admissions decreased from 34.8% in the 2 previous years to 7.8% during ACCESS (P < .001). Mixed models repeated-measures analyses revealed significant improvements among all patients in psychopathology (effect size d = 0.64, P < .001), illness severity (d = 0.84, P = .03), functioning level (d = 0.65, P < .001), quality of life (d = 0.50, P < .001), and client satisfaction (d = 0.11, P < .001). At 24 months, 78.3% were fully adherent to medication, compared to 25.2% at baseline (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS ACCESS was successfully implemented in clinical routine and maintained excellent rates of service engagement and other outcomes in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders or bipolar I disorder with psychotic features over 24 months. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01888627.

Patients with delusions exhibit an increased tendency to arrive at decisions based on very limited evidence (jumping-to-conclusions; JTC), making this reasoning bias relevant for the treatment of delusions. Neurocognitive deficits contribute to JTC, but it is not known whether this has any bearing on the clinical syndrome of delusions. We addressed this question by reanalyzing data from an efficacy study of non-pharmacological interventions as adjunctive treatments in schizophrenia. We investigated the longitudinal associations of cognitive functioning, JTC and delusions in patients with psychotic disorders receiving either a metacognitive intervention addressing reasoning biases (n=59), or cognitive remediation (n=58). Both interventions improved JTC; in the cognitive remediation group, tentative evidence suggested that better neurocognitive performance contributed to this improvement. However, JTC gains were associated with delusion improvement only in the metacognitive intervention group, suggesting a content-specific mechanism of action.

People with psychotic disorders fulfilling criteria of a severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) display a high risk of somatic comorbidity (SC).ACCESS II is a prospective, long-term study examining the effectiveness of Integrated Care for people with psychotic disorders fulfilling SPMI criteria. Chronic comorbid somatic disorders were systematically assessed according to ICD-10-GM criteria. Patients treated for ≥4years in ACCESS were categorized as early psychosis (treatment: ≤2years) or non-early psychosis (treatment:2years) patients.Of 187 patients treated in ACCESS for ≥4years (mean age=41.8years, males=44.4%), 145 (77.5%) had SC, (mean=2.1±2.1). Overall, 55 different diseases from 15 different ICD-10-GM disease areas were identified. Prevalence of ≥1 SC (p=0.09) and specific types of SC (p=0.08-1.00) did not differ between early and non-early psychosis patients, but non-early psychosis patients had a higher mean number of SC (2.3±2.2 vs. 1.3±1.3, p=0.002). SC patients had higher rates of comorbid mental disorders (93% vs. 81%, p=0.002), specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (23% vs. 7%, p=0.002), and suicide attempts (43% vs. 19%, p0.001). At the 4-year endpoint, both patients with and without comorbidity displayed major improvements in psychopathology, severity of illness, functioning, quality of life and satisfaction with care.SC is frequent in patients with severe psychotic disorders, even in the early psychosis phase. The magnitude of the problem underlines the need for regular screening, comprehensive assessment, preventive pharmacotherapy, and targeted SC management.

Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are a mainstay in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. However, continuity in intake of the prescribed medication has been one of the greatest challenges in these patients. One option to improve medication adherence is to prescribe depot or long-acting injectable formulations (LAIs) of antipsychotics. Following risperidone, several other SGAs have been introduced as LAIs. Olanzapine pamoate, paliperidone palmitate, and aripiprazole are the new-generation LAIs, which are available for 2- to 4-week intervals of application in many countries. The literature shows a clear advantage of these drugs over placebo regarding symptom reduction and relapse prevention. LAIs show a similar safety profile to oral formulations of the relevant drug, with the exception of olanzapine pamoate, which can lead to rare cases of post-injection delirium/sedation syndrome (PDSS). PDSS is characterized by heavy sedation (possibly including coma) and/or delirium after injection. During PDSS events, patients show higher plasma concentrations of olanzapine, leading to the assumption that unintended partial intravascular injection or blood vessel injury during the injection is causative of PDSS. Therefore, a risk-management plan proposing an observation period of 3 h was introduced. In August 2013, a new proposal by the European Medicines Agency terminated the requirement to accompany these patients to their next destination, although this requirement remains in place according to US FDA recommendations.