Similitudes en el deterioro cognitivo de pacientes con esquizofrenia de inicio reciente y pacientes crónicos: una consideración sobre la hipótesis del neurodesarrollo.

SIMILARITIES IN COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT BETWEEN RECENT-ONSET AND CHRONIC SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS: A CONSIDERATION FOR THE NEURODEVELOPMENTAL HYPOTHESIS.

COGNITION disorders; TOWER of London (London, England); EXECUTIVE function; PATIENTS; COGNITIVE processing speed; SCHIZOPHRENIA; CHRONICALLY ill; COGNITIVE testing; NEURODEVELOPMENTAL treatment; STROOP effect; COGNITIVE ability; WISCONSIN Card Sorting Test

Se ha descrito la presencia de déficits cognitivos en pacientes con esquizofrenia, dichas alteraciones pueden observarse en fases tempranas y crónicas de la enfermedad. Sin embargo, los hallazgos respecto a los déficits en estas fases aún mantienen el debate sobre si la esquizofrenia es una condición neurodegenerativa que cursa con un deterioro continuo o si los déficits permanecen estables, como sugiere la hipótesis del neurodesarrollo. En el presente estudio se compara el rendimiento cognitivo de pacientes con esquizofrenia de inicio reciente (RO) y pacientes crónicos (CH) con la finalidad de contrastar la hipótesis del neurodesarrollo con la perspectiva neurodegenerativa. Método. Se incluyeron 20 participantes de RO (< 5 años desde el primer episodio psicótico) y 30 pacientes de CH (> 5 años desde el primer episodio psicótico). Para la evaluación cognitiva se utilizó la Batería Cognitiva Consensuada MATRICS (MCCB), la Prueba Torre de Londres, la Prueba de Clasificación de Tarjetas de Wisconsin y la Prueba de Stroop. Se utilizó ANCOVA para las comparaciones de grupos. Resultados. No hubo diferencias entre los grupos en la mayoría de las pruebas cognitivas. Se observó una diferencia significativa en la prueba de span espacial del MCCB. Conclusiones. Los déficits cognitivos permanecen estables a lo largo del tiempo; nuestros hallazgos son consistentes con la hipótesis del neurodesarrollo de la esquizofrenia más que con el enfoque neurodegenerativo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impairment in attention, memory, processing speed and executive functions have been described in patients with schizophrenia. Such impairments can be observed in early stages of the disease and in chronic patients; discrepancy in findings regarding the cognitive deficits at different stages of the illness keeps the debate about schizophrenia as a neurodegenerative condition which courses with continuous deterioration, or if deficits remain stable, as the neurodevelopmental hypothesis suggests. The aim of the present study was to compare the cognitive performance of recent-onset (RO) and chronic (CH) schizophrenia patients to contrast the neurodevelopmental hypothesis against the neurodegenerative approach. Methods. Twenty RO participants (< 5 years from first psychotic episode) and 30 CH patients (> 5 years from first psychotic episode) were included in the sample. The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), Tower of London test (ToL), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and Stroop Test were used for cognitive evaluation. ANCOVA analysis was performed for group comparisons. Results. No differences between RO and CH patients were identified on most cognitive tests. However, a significant difference was observed in the visual spatial span test from MCCB. Conclusions. We conclude that cognitive deficits remain stable over the course of the disease. Our findings are consistent with the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia rather than the neurodegenerative approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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