This study investigated what type of information reduces stigmatization of schizophrenia. Subjects were presented with one of six varying descriptions of a hypothetical case in which a target individual had recovered from a mental disorder. Subjects were asked if they knew someone with a mental illness. Those individuals who had no previous contact perceived the mentally ill as dangerous and chose to maintain a greater social distance from them. In general, knowledge of the symptoms associated with the acute phase of schizophrenia created more stigma than the label of schizophrenia alone. In contrast, more information about the target individuals post-treatment living arrangements (i.e., supervised care) reduced negative judgments. Implications for public education and future research are discussed.

This large observational study demonstrates an improvement in operative mortality for patients undergoing pancreatectomy for neoplastic disease from 1998 to 2003. In addition, a greater proportion of pancreatectomies were performed at high-volume centers in 2003. The regionalization of pancreatic surgery may have partially contributed to the observed decrease in mortality rates.

Ninety subjects with severe and disabling psychiatric conditions, predominantly schizophrenia, participated in a controlled-outcome trial of the cognitive component of Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT), a group-therapy modality intended to reestablish basic neurocognitive functions. The cognitive therapy was delivered to subjects in the experimental condition during intensive 6-month treatment periods. Control subjects received supportive group therapy. Before, during, and after the intensive treatment period, all subjects received an enriched regimen of comprehensive psychiatric rehabilitation, including social and living skills training, optimal pharmacotherapy, occupational therapy, and milieu-based behavioral treatment. IPT subjects showed incrementally greater gains compared with controls on the primary outcome measure, the Assessment of Interpersonal Problem-Solving Skills, suggesting that procedures that target cognitive impairments of schizophrenia spectrum disorders can enhance patients' response to standard psychiatric rehabilitation, at least in the short term, in the domain of social competence. There was equivocal evidence for greater improvement in the experimental condition on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale disorganization factor and strong evidence for greater improvement on a laboratory measure of attentional processing. There was significant improvement in both conditions on measures of attention, memory, and executive functioning, providing support for the hypothesis that therapeutic procedures that target impaired cognition enhance response to conventional psychiatric rehabilitation modalities over a 6-month timeframe.

Parent to Parent support creates a community of similar others trained to listen and be supportive and provides an opportunity for matched parents to experience equality and mutuality in their relationship. Findings also identify the need for quality control in Parent to Parent programs and the importance of such programs as an adjunct to traditional professional services.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is characterized by upper and lower motor neuron dysfunction and loss, rapidly progressive muscle weakness, wasting and death. Many factors, including mitochondrial dysfunction, may contribute to ALS pathogenesis. Riluzole, which has shown only modest benefits in a measure of survival time without demonstrated effects on muscle strength or function, is the only approved treatment for ALS. We tested the putative mitochondrial modulator dexpramipexole (KNS-760704; (6R)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-N6-propyl-2,6-benzothiazole-diamine) in subjects with ALS in a two-part, double-blind safety and tolerability study, with a preliminary assessment of its effects on functional decline and mortality. In part 1, the effects of dexpramipexole (50, 150 or 300 mg d(-1)) versus placebo were assessed over 12 weeks. In part 2, after a 4-week, single-blind placebo washout, continuing subjects were re-randomized to dexpramipexole at 50 mg d(-1) or 300 mg d(-1) as double-blind active treatment for 24 weeks. Dexpramipexole was safe and well tolerated. Trends showing a dose-dependent attenuation of the slope of decline of the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) in part 1 and a statistically significant (P = 0.046) difference between groups in a joint rank test of change from baseline in ALSFRS-R and mortality in part 2 strongly support further testing of dexpramipexole in ALS.