Abstract
Cognitive impairment is highly prevalent in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Many interventions have been developed to treat cognitive deficit, since it has a strong impact on functional outcome; however, there are no integrated interventions targeting multiple neuro- and social-cognitive domains with a particular focus on the generalization of the effects of therapy on the functional outcome. Recently, a group of experts has developed a cognitive remediation group therapy approach called Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy (INT), which includes exercises to improve the MATRICS (Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia) neuro- and social-cognitive domains. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of this approach. We conducted a search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO to select primary studies evaluating INT in schizophrenic and schizoaffective patients. The primary outcomes of the meta-analysis included negative and positive symptoms and global functioning. Two randomized controlled trials met inclusion criteria. A total of 217 participants were included. Based on the results from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), a significant pooled effect size was observed for negative symptoms, which demonstrated not only an improvement in the patients treated immediately after therapy but also a permanence of positive results at a 9–12-month follow-up. On the other hand, no significant effect size was observed for positive symptoms. In addition, a significant pooled effect size was found for Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), which shows how INT's integrated approach has lasting positive implications on patients' functional outcome. We concluded that INT might be an effective treatment for negative symptoms and global functioning in patients with schizophrenia, compared to treatment as usual (TAU).
Highlights
Cognitive deficits are one of the most important features in schizophrenia with significant consequences on patients’ psychosocial functioning [1]
In support of the observation that social and occupational impairment in schizophrenic patients is strongly correlated with neurocognitive deficits, there has been an increasing interest in the development of new pharmacological agents to improve cognition, and an interest in determining which cognitive domains should be represented in a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests, in Schizophrenia Research and Treatment order to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological treatments
There are many studies on various cognitive remediation approaches, there are only two trials conducted on Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy (INT) which tested its efficacy. Both the RCTs we found demonstrated the improvement of the patients in different deficit areas, so we summarized the data to integrate the results; we hoped to obtain a single quantitative estimate index that would allow us to draw stronger conclusions than those drawn on the basis of each single study
Summary
Cognitive deficits are one of the most important features in schizophrenia with significant consequences on patients’ psychosocial functioning [1]. In support of the observation that social and occupational impairment in schizophrenic patients is strongly correlated with neurocognitive deficits, there has been an increasing interest in the development of new pharmacological agents to improve cognition, and an interest in determining which cognitive domains should be represented in a battery of standardized neuropsychological tests, in Schizophrenia Research and Treatment order to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacological treatments. From these considerations, the MATRICS project (Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia) starts [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
