<p>A novel approach to cardiovascular disturbances in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated with long-acting injectable medication</p>

Abstract

PurposeThis research article assesses the cardiovascular impact of long-term injectable antipsychotic therapy on patients diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In our study, we attempted to quantify the potential causes of cardiovascular damage, assess cardiovascular parameters, and correlate them with the time elapsed from the onset of the psychosis until the initiation of injectable antipsychotic therapy, as well as the duration of long-acting therapy, and finally, to compare two of the most utilized long-acting injectable (LAI) medications (olanzapine vs risperidone).Patients and methodsThis cross-sectional study recruited 64 patients of 2 outpatient clinics undergoing treatment with LAI antipsychotics for schizophrenic spectrum disorder. The study reports outpatients’ clinical data, laboratory blood sample findings, routine echocardiography, as well as speckle tracking echocardiography.ResultsAmong patients with longer durations of pre-long-acting antipsychotic treatment, body mass indices, mitral velocity wave values (E and A waves), and the global longitudinal strain (GLS) measurements significantly correlated with patients’ myocardial contractility. The study also found that GLS was significantly lower in the group in which pre-LAI duration was prolonged, and was not influenced by the duration of LAI treatment. Furthermore, patients receiving olanzapine showed significantly improved myocardial contractility as measured by the aforementioned parameters, in comparison with patients treated with risperidone.ConclusionThe results of our study indicate that patients suffering from schizophrenia and who are left untreated or poorly treated for a longer period of time may develop myocardial impairment. The changes may be both secondary to a high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and may also be generated by the disease per se. The group who received olanzapine demonstrated improved results for a longer period of time without proper medication.

<p>Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions in Ambulatory Elderly Patients Living in Rural Areas of Romania Using STOPP/START (Version 2) Criteria</p>

“…These were represented by new, well-chosen drugs according to international recommendations (most probably as a consequence of being prescribed by specialists). 34,35 Conversely, the EPCCs collected in Arad had a lower percentage of psychotropic drugs (probably because most were penned by a GP).…”

<p>The Predictive Value of Endothelial Inflammatory Markers in the Onset of Schizophrenia</p>

“…7,8 Many studies have shown aberrant levels of a range of inflammatory markers in SZ patients. [9][10][11] Decreased levels of sICAM-1 in SZ could represent the reduced activity of the type-1 immune system, [12][13][14] but the role of inflammation and immune activation in severe mental disorders is still poorly understood.…”

Impairment of the cardiac ejection fraction by blocking dopamine D2 receptors induced by long-acting injectable antipsychotic treatment

“…The severity of the psychiatric symptoms was assessed with BPRS-E. We chose the expanded version (24 items) of BPRS because it appears to assess better affective and schizophrenic symptoms than the previous (18 items) version [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. The cardiac EF was measured by a cardiologist using TSTE because the three-dimensional strain analysis better detects subclinical changes in the cardiac muscle [ 41 ].…”