Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Cognitive Deficits and Aging

A new article in Psychiatric Times talks about The Effects of Age on Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia. In the article it states that:

"Cognitive deficits are increasingly being recognized as a central feature of schizophrenia. Some impairments are present before the hallmark positive symptoms of the illness emerge (Cornblatt et al., 1999; Davidson et al., 1999), and moderate-to-severe impairments across many cognitive domains are detectable at the time of the first episode (Bilder et al., 2000; Saykin et al., 1994). Cognitive deficits appear to be largely consistent in severity across changes in clinical state (Harvey et al., 1990) and appear stable from emergence of the first episode until after middle age (Rund, 1998). These findings suggest that cognitive deficits are not simply a consequence of the symptoms of the illness or its treatment. Studies of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia have moved from descriptive to predictive since their link to functional outcome has been well-replicated (Green et al., 2000). Thus, cognitive deficits are now recognized as an important treatment goal."