Psychosis prevention and early intervention in Hungary.

Abstract

Early intervention and psychosis prevention is one the most progressive and controversial issues in current psychiatry research. Despite the huge development in classification systems, structured interviews, and rating scales for "ultra-high risk" mental states, the probability of psychosis can only be estimated with a modest specificity. The purpose of this paper is to describe recent developments in research and early detection programs in Hungary. In an open study we demonstrated that transient low-dose antipsychotic treatment can reduce the risk of psychosis conversion without significant side effects and without stigmatization. In a follow-up study it was found that the SNP8NRG243177/rs6994992 polymorphism of the neuregulin 1 gene is associated with psychosis conversion, which might be a new tool to discriminate true converters from false positives. Finally, specific tests for the assessment of visual perceptual functions (magnocellular pathways and lateral connections in early visual cortex) are described, which provide a psychophysical foundation for some Basic Symptoms of the early prodromal phase and may facilitate the objective detection of "at-risk" mental states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)