Publications (5)4.94 Total impact
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Article: The cross-sectional GRAS sample: a comprehensive phenotypical data collection of schizophrenic patients.
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ABSTRACT: Schizophrenia is the collective term for an exclusively clinically diagnosed, heterogeneous group of mental disorders with still obscure biological roots. Based on the assumption that valuable information about relevant genetic and environmental disease mechanisms can be obtained by association studies on patient cohorts of ≥ 1000 patients, if performed on detailed clinical datasets and quantifiable biological readouts, we generated a new schizophrenia data base, the GRAS (Göttingen Research Association for Schizophrenia) data collection. GRAS is the necessary ground to study genetic causes of the schizophrenic phenotype in a 'phenotype-based genetic association study' (PGAS). This approach is different from and complementary to the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on schizophrenia. For this purpose, 1085 patients were recruited between 2005 and 2010 by an invariable team of traveling investigators in a cross-sectional field study that comprised 23 German psychiatric hospitals. Additionally, chart records and discharge letters of all patients were collected. The corresponding dataset extracted and presented in form of an overview here, comprises biographic information, disease history, medication including side effects, and results of comprehensive cross-sectional psychopathological, neuropsychological, and neurological examinations. With >3000 data points per schizophrenic subject, this data base of living patients, who are also accessible for follow-up studies, provides a wide-ranging and standardized phenotype characterization of as yet unprecedented detail. The GRAS data base will serve as prerequisite for PGAS, a novel approach to better understanding 'the schizophrenias' through exploring the contribution of genetic variation to the schizophrenic phenotypes.BMC Psychiatry 11/2010; 10:91. · 2.55 Impact Factor -
Article: The cross-sectional GRAS sample: A comprehensive phenotypical data collection of schizophrenic patients
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ABSTRACT: Abstract Background Schizophrenia is the collective term for an exclusively clinically diagnosed, heterogeneous group of mental disorders with still obscure biological roots. Based on the assumption that valuable information about relevant genetic and environmental disease mechanisms can be obtained by association studies on patient cohorts of ≥ 1000 patients, if performed on detailed clinical datasets and quantifiable biological readouts, we generated a new schizophrenia data base, the GRAS (Göttingen Research Association for Schizophrenia) data collection. GRAS is the necessary ground to study genetic causes of the schizophrenic phenotype in a 'phenotype-based genetic association study' (PGAS). This approach is different from and complementary to the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on schizophrenia. Methods For this purpose, 1085 patients were recruited between 2005 and 2010 by an invariable team of traveling investigators in a cross-sectional field study that comprised 23 German psychiatric hospitals. Additionally, chart records and discharge letters of all patients were collected. Results The corresponding dataset extracted and presented in form of an overview here, comprises biographic information, disease history, medication including side effects, and results of comprehensive cross-sectional psychopathological, neuropsychological, and neurological examinations. With >3000 data points per schizophrenic subject, this data base of living patients, who are also accessible for follow-up studies, provides a wide-ranging and standardized phenotype characterization of as yet unprecedented detail. Conclusions The GRAS data base will serve as prerequisite for PGAS, a novel approach to better understanding 'the schizophrenias' through exploring the contribution of genetic variation to the schizophrenic phenotypes.BMC Psychiatry. 01/2010; -
Article: Psychiatric comorbidity and additional abuse of drugs in maintenance treatment with L- and D,L-methadone.
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ABSTRACT: Sixty D,L- or L-methadone treated patients in maintenance therapy were interviewed for additional drug abuse and psychiatric comorbidity; 51.7% of the entire population had a comorbid Axis-I disorder, with a higher prevalence in females (P=0.05). Comorbid patients tended to have higher abuse of benzodiazepines, alcohol, cannabis, and cocaine, but not of heroin. They had received a significantly lower D,L- (P<0.05) and L-methadone dose than non-comorbid subjects. The duration of maintenance treatment showed an inverse relationship to frequency of additional heroin intake (P<0.01). Patients with additional heroin intake over the past 30 days had been treated with a significantly lower L-methadone dosage (P<0.05) than patients without. Axis-I comorbidity appears to be decreased when relatively higher dosages of D,L- (and L-methadone) are administered; comorbid individuals, however, were on significantly lower dosages. Finally, L-, but not D,L-methadone seems to be more effective in reducing additional heroin abuse.The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry 01/2010; 11(2 Pt 2):390-9. · 2.38 Impact Factor -
Article: The cross-sectional GRAS sample: a comprehensive phenotypical data collection of schizophrenic patients
BMC Psychiatry, v.10 (2010). -
Article: Psychiatric Comorbidity and Gender Effects in Heroin and Cocaine-Addicted Patients in Specified Long-Term Treatment and Acute Inpatient Detoxification Treatment
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ABSTRACT: Objective: Previous reports on heroin and cocaine addicts showed drug-related and gender differences in psychiatric co-morbidity, which has relevant consequences for treatment. However, studies vary substantially with respect to methods and timeframes. Studies on German patient groups are scarce. Methods: Data on psychiatric and somatic comorbidity, substance addiction history, present intake patterns and socio-demography were obtained from 43 female (n=11) and male (n=32) heroin and cocaine addicts in acute inpatient de-toxification treatment or specified long-term treatment. A European Addiction-Severity-Index (EuropASI) based centre questionnaire and the Mini-DIPS were applied. Results: Treatment groups did not differ in psychiatric comorbidity. Female subjects, however, had a significantly higher prevalence of psychiatric comorbid diagnoses (p<.05), mostly anxiety and affective disorders which significantly correlated with low occupational status (p<.05).Patients in long-term treatment abused more other substances and had an earlier onset of regular substance abuse (in particular alcohol and cannabis) (p<.05). Conclusion: Heroin and cocaine addicted females are more likely than males to have affective and anxiety disorders. Long-term treatment attenders appear to be more severely addicted (earlier onset and additional abuse) than acute treatment patients but do not differ in comorbidity. However, no axis-II diagnoses were recorded and the sample-size was small. Results should be regarded as preliminary (German J Psychiatry 2009; 12: 1-7).
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2010
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Max-Planck-Institut für Experimentelle Medizin
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany -
Medizinische Hochschule Hannover
Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany
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