Browsing by Author "Asmal, Laila"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Associations of premorbid adjustment with type and timing of childhood trauma in first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders
    (AOSIS, 2021-06) Smit, Anna M.; Kilian, Sanja; Emsley, Robin A.; Luckhoff, Hilmar K.; Swartz, Leslie; Seedat, Soraya; Asmal, Laila
    Background: Childhood trauma may contribute to poorer premorbid social and academic adjustment which may be a risk factor for schizophrenia. Aim: We explored the relationship between premorbid adjustment and childhood trauma, timing of childhood trauma’s moderating role as well as the association of clinical and treatment-related confounders with premorbid adjustment. Setting: We conducted a secondary analysis in 111 patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) disorders that formed part of two parent studies, EONKCS study (n =73) and the Shared Roots study (n =38). Methods: Type of childhood trauma was assessed with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, short-form and premorbid adjustment using the Premorbid Adjustment Scale. Timing of childhood trauma was assessed using the Life Events Checklist and life events timeline. Linear regression analyses were used to assess the moderating effect of timing of childhood trauma. Clinical and treatment-related confounders were entered into sequential hierarchical regression models to identify independent predictors of premorbid adjustment across key life stages. Results: Childhood physical neglect was associated with poorer premorbid academic functioning during childhood and early adolescence, and poorer premorbid social functioning during early and late adolescence. By hierarchical regression modelling (r2 = 0.13), higher physical neglect subscale scores (p = 0.011) independently predicted poorer premorbid social adjustment during early adolescence. Timing of childhood trauma did not moderate the relationship between childhood trauma and premorbid functioning. Conclusion: In patients with FES, childhood physical neglect may contribute to poorer premorbid social functioning during early adolescence. This may provide us with an opportunity to identify and treat at-risk individuals earlier.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Brain structural and white matter changes in first-episode schizophrenia and their demographic, clinical and cognitive correlates
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Asmal, Laila; Emsley, Robin; Dazzan, Paola; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Psychiatry.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : In schizophrenia, decreased brain volume and altered cortical thinning (especially in the frontal and temporal areas), as well as white matter deficits are described at the first-episode. The relationship between these brain measures and clinical symptoms, whether there is progression, and the extent to which antipsychotic medication contribute to or mitigate those changes remains unclear. The aim of this PhD was to examine cortical thickness, brain volume (cortical, subcortical, white matter) and diffusion tensor imaging data, looking at the relationship between these brain measures and clinical variables in the first year of schizophrenia treatment. This PhD focused on the MRI subcomponent of a larger prospective longitudinal study in first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients treated with flupenthixol decanoate medication. The thesis integrates the findings of five journal manuscripts that each focused on a clinically relevant neuroimaging question that emerged as we assessed patients in the parent study, namely insight, childhood trauma, neuroimaging predictors of symptom expression, and antipsychotic related brain changes. In our first manuscript, baseline fractional anisotropy (FA) in a number of white matter tracts predicted poorer total insight in 89 FES patients, with a predilection for tracts associated with cortical midline structures. In our second manuscript, the ‘symptom misattribution’ domain of clinical insight was associated with significantly thinner left anterior cingulate and left rostral middle frontal cortices. Our studies address a need for research in larger samples in FES to better understand the neurobiology of insight in schizophrenia. In our third manuscript, baseline FA deficits in cortico-limbic circuitry was associated with childhood trauma in 53 FES patients compared to 51 controls, and there were differential effects of childhood emotional neglect (increased FA) and sexual abuse (decreased FA) on white matter in patients. To our knowledge, at the time of manuscript submission for publication, this was the first study examining the relationship between childhood trauma, FA and FES. For our fourth manuscript, baseline brain measures in 54 FES patients were differentially associated with state and trait symptom expression over 12 months, with global gray matter significantly associated with sensory integration and verbal learning trait scores, cortical volume with verbal learning trait scores, cortical thickness with social and occupational functioning trait scores, and white matter volume with motor coordination state scores. Of potential relevance to patient care is that these neuroimaging deficits at initial presentation in FES may predict enduring trait deficits in cognition, functioning and neurological soft signs. For our final manuscript, total antipsychotic dose was a predictor of substantial cortical brain volume reductions over twelve months of treatment in 23 antipsychotic naïve patients compared to 53 matched controls. Our finding of a significant relationship between antipsychotic dose and cortical volume reduction in this study strongly suggests causality. Future research directions stemming from this PhD include further exploration of our longitudinal data, strengthening our clinical assessments of insight and childhood trauma, connectomic analyses, a multi-modality neuroimaging approach, hippocampal subfield segmentation, and broadening our international collaborations.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Cognitive insight is associated with perceived body weight in overweight and obese adults
    (BMC (part of Springer Nature), 2021-03-19) Suliman, Sharain; L. Van Den Heuvel, Leigh; Kilian, Sanja; Brocker, Erine; Asmal, Laila; Emsley, Robin; Seedat, Soraya
    Background: Accurate perception of body weight is necessary for individuals with a high body mass index (BMI) to initiate strategies to improve their health status. Furthermore, identifying factors that influence accurate body weight perception can assist in designing appropriate educational and weight management programs. We therefore aimed to investigate whether levels of cognitive functioning and insight influence the ability to correctly judge body weight. Methods: One hundred and eighty four overweight and obese adults who participated in a cross- sectional casecontrol study and were controls in the aforementioned study were included. The study was conducted in Cape Town, South Africa. Demographic, weight-related, neuropsychiatric, neurocognitive and cognitive insight measures were administered. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the factors associated with correct weight perception. Results: The final regression model explained 52.3% of variation in accurate perception of body weight and was significant (p ≤ 0. 001). The model correctly classified 79.3% of individuals who were able to correctly and incorrectly judge their weight. Adults with higher BMI, and lower self-certainty, those who reported that they had gained weight in the previous year and those who were told by a healthcare professional to lose or maintain a healthy weight were more likely to correctly judge their weight. Conclusion: Some aspects of cognitive insight (self-certainty) but not cognitive functioning were associated with perception of body weight in this sample. Awareness of recent weight changes, higher BMI and advice from of health care professionals were also significantly associated with perception of body weight, while demographic variables were not. Understanding the factors that contribute to the correct perception of weight is important in identifying appropriate health interventions that may address the burden of associated non-communicable diseases in overweight and obese individuals.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Cognitive-perceptual deficits and symptom correlates in first-episode schizophrenia
    (AOSIS Publishing, 2017) Olivier, Riaan M.; Kilian, Sanja; Chiliza, Bonginkosi; Asmal, Laila; Oosthuizen, Petrus P.; Emsley, Robin A.; Kidd, Martin
    Background: Thought disorder and visual-perceptual deficits have been well documented, but their relationships with clinical symptoms and cognitive function remain unclear. Cognitive-perceptual deficits may underscore clinical symptoms in schizophrenia patients. Aim: This study aimed to explore how thought disorder and form perception are related with clinical symptoms and cognitive dysfunction in first-episode schizophrenia. Setting: Forty-two patients with a first-episode of schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective disorder were recruited from community clinics and state hospitals in the Cape Town area. Methods: Patients were assessed at baseline with the Rorschach Perceptual Thinking Index (PTI), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and the MATRICS Cognitive Consensus Battery (MCCB). Spearman correlational analyses were conducted to investigate relationships between PTI scores, PANSS factor analysis-derived domain scores and MCCB composite and subscale scores. Multiple regression models explored these relationships further. Results: Unexpectedly, poor form perception (X- %) was inversely correlated with the severity of PANSS positive symptoms (r = -0.42, p = 0.02). Good form perception (XA%) correlated significantly with speed of processing (r = 0.59, p < 0.01), working memory (r = 0.48, p < 0.01) and visual learning (r = 0.55, p < 0.01). PTI measures of thought disorder did not correlate significantly with PANSS symptom scores or cognitive performance. Conclusions: Form perception is associated with positive symptoms and impairment in executive function during acute psychosis. These findings suggest that there may be clinical value in including sensory-perceptual processing tasks in cognitive remediation and social cognitive training programmes for schizophrenia patients.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Instruments measuring blunted affect in schizophrenia : a systematic review
    (Public Library of Science, 2015-06) Kilian, Sanja; Asmal, Laila; Goosen, Anneke; Chiliza, Bonginkosi; Phahladira, Lebogang; Emsley, Robin A.
    Blunted affect, also referred to as emotional blunting, is a prominent symptom of schizophrenia. Patients with blunted affect have difficulty in expressing their emotions. The work of Abrams and Taylor and their development of the Rating Scale for Emotional Blunting in the late 1970’s was an early indicator that blunted affect could indeed be assessed reliably. Since then, several new instruments assessing negative symptoms with subscales measuring blunted affect have been developed. In light of this, we aim to provide researchers and clinicians with a systematic review of the different instruments used to assess blunted affect by providing a comparison of the type, characteristics, administration and psychometric properties of these instruments. Studies reporting on the psychometric properties of instruments assessing blunted affect in patients with schizophrenia were included. Reviews and case studies were excluded. We reviewed 30 full-text articles and included 15 articles and 10 instruments in this systematic review. On average the instruments take 15–30 minutes to administer. We found that blunted affect items common across all instruments assess: gestures, facial expressions and vocal expressions. The CAINS Self-report Expression Subscale, had a low internal consistency score. This suggests that this sub-scale does not reliably assess patients’ self-reported blunted affect symptoms and is likely due to the nature of blunted affect. Instruments correlated minimally with instruments measuring positive symptoms and more importantly with depression suggesting that the instruments distinguish between seemingly similar symptoms.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Investigating the association between diabetes mellitus, depression and psychological distress in a cohort of South African teachers
    (Health & Medical Publishing Group, 2015-11) Domingo, Abdul Kader; Asmal, Laila; Seedat, Soraya; Esterhuizen, Tonya M.; Laurence, Carien; Volmink, Jimmy
    Background. Diabetes mellitus (DM) may increase the risk of depression as a result of a sense of threat of debilitating complications or because of associated lifestyle changes. Depression may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes as a result of poor health behaviours. Objective. To determine the association between diabetes mellitus, depression and psychological distress in a cohort of South African (SA) teachers. Methods. Teachers from 111 public schools in the Metro South District of the Cape Metropolitan area, SA, were invited to participate in this study. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) were used to assess depression and psychological distress, respectively. A professional nurse completed a physical examination and collected blood for measurement of glucose, cholesterol and serum creatinine. Results. Of the 388 teachers who completed the questionnaires, 67.5% were female and the average age was 46.2 years (standard deviation 8.7). Psychological distress was identified in 28.1% of the cohort and depression in 15.5%, and 7.7% were found to fulfil criteria for DM. A diagnosis of DM was associated with an increased risk of depression (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.90; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.33 - 11.37) and psychological distress (AOR 3.62; 95% CI 1.31 - 10.00). Conclusion. The high prevalence of obesity and DM in this cohort of SA teachers is of concern. A diagnosis of DM was strongly associated with an increased risk of depression and psychological distress.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The nature of relapse in schizophrenia
    (BioMed Cenral, 2013-02) Emsley, Robin; Chiliza, Bonginkosi; Asmal, Laila; Harvey, Brian, H.
    Background Multiple relapses characterise the course of illness in most patients with schizophrenia, yet the nature of these episodes has not been extensively researched and clinicians may not always be aware of important implications. Methods We critically review selected literature regarding the nature and underlying neurobiology of relapse. Results Relapse rates are very high when treatment is discontinued, even after a single psychotic episode; a longer treatment period prior to discontinuation does not reduce the risk of relapse; many patients relapse soon after treatment reduction and discontinuation; transition from remission to relapse may be abrupt and with few or no early warning signs; once illness recurrence occurs symptoms rapidly return to levels similar to the initial psychotic episode; while most patients respond promptly to re-introduction of antipsychotic treatment after relapse, the response time is variable and notably, treatment failure appears to emerge in about 1 in 6 patients. These observations are consistent with contemporary thinking on the dopamine hypothesis, including the aberrant salience hypothesis. Conclusions Given the difficulties in identifying those at risk of relapse, the ineffectiveness of rescue medications in preventing full-blown psychotic recurrence and the potentially serious consequences, adherence and other factors predisposing to relapse should be a major focus of attention in managing schizophrenia. The place of antipsychotic treatment discontinuation in clinical practice and in placebo-controlled clinical trials needs to be carefully reconsidered.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Neurological soft signs, spontaneous and treatment emergent extrapyramidal syndromes in Black Africans with first episode schizophrenia
    (Frontiers Media, 2018) Ojagbemi, Akin; Chiliza, Bonga; Bello, Toyin; Asmal, Laila; Esan, Oluyomi; Emsley, Robin A.; Gureje, Oye
    Background: Very little is known about the relationship between spontaneous and treatment-induced motor syndromes in Africans with first episode schizophrenia. Objective: We investigated the association between spontaneous NSS and EPS, with treatment-induced EPS in a homogenous sample of Black Africans with first episode schizophrenia. Methods: We examined Xhosa (South Africa) and Yoruba (Nigeria) patients, using the Neurological Evaluation Scale and extrapyramidal symptoms scale before and at 3 months after exposure to low dose flupenthixol decanoate. Pearson's correlations and Linear regression models, controlling for duration of untreated psychosis (D.U.P) and premorbid adjustments, were used in examining associations. Results: Among 99 participants in the baseline sample, 91 (91.8%) and 20 (20.2%) had at least one definite NSS and EPS, respectively, before exposure to antipsychotics. Treatment-induced EPS were recorded in 34 (38.6%). Spontaneous EPS was associated with treatment-emergent Akathisia in participants with a longer D.U.P (r = 0.75, β = 0.70, p = 0.008). This association was specific for Parkinsonism (r = 0.75, β = 0.85, p = 0.008) and dyskinesia (r = 0.75, β = 1.70, p = 0.008). Conclusion: Similar to previous findings for tardive dyskinesia in studies implementing longer-term follow-up, spontaneous EPS may also predict short-term antipsychotic-induced EPS such as akathisia. These results may be important for early identification of patients at risk of treatment-induced Akathisia-linked psychomotor agitation in first episode schizophrenia.