Cognitive deficits in familial schizophrenia

Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and has been observed in subjects with and without a family history of schizophrenia. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of research directly contrasting cognitive profiles in schizophrenia patients and normal people where family history is present and those where the family history is absent.

This stydy aimed to compare cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia who had a family history with those that did not and healthy controls.

Fifty consecutive schizophrenia patients were assessed on admission and follow-up after 6 months of treatment using a specially prepared pro forma, the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and the PGI Battery of brain dysfunction is the name give to the test. An equal number of age- and sex-matched normal control subjects were also assessed.

Visual memory scores in this study show improvement between baseline and follow-up in schizophrenia patients with/without a family history. Both verbal learning and memory increase between baseline and follow-up but do not reach control levels. Reasoning and problem-solving deficits follow a similar pattern and are causative in the inability to adapt to a changing world. Speed of processing shows improvement with treatment. Working memory deficits in patients improve with treatment.

In this study, all six cognitive domain scores in schizophrenia improved after 6 months of treatment but did not reach the control population level. Individuals with the highest cognitive deficits in the scales were the ones who had a family history of schizophrenia.