Standard Comprehensive Intervention to Treat First-episode Schizophrenia

Summary

Schizophrenia is not a curable but a treatable disease by antipsychotics. Kinds of atypical antipsychotics are widely used since 1990s' in China. Although their efficacy for acute phase are all better than typicals, individulized regimen of them for first-episode schizophrenia and their effectiveness in real naturalistic clinical settings still remain unclear. And those patients also need more comprehensive intervention such as psychosocial programs to improve their function. This protocol is to conduct a study in several sites of China to investigate the effectiveness of comprehensive intervention combining sequenced atypical antipsychotic therapy and intensive psychosocial intervention for first-episode schizophrenic patients. In addition, this protocol also aims at collecting such information as molecular genetics, neurochemical test, neucognitive performance and neuroimaging for outcome analysis.

Timeline

Start

2008-09

Primary completion

2011-03

Completion

—

Publications

• Yin X, Zhou T, Huang B, Lu Z, Gao T, Guo X, Hu W, Ji Y, Wang X, Zheng Y, Yu X, Pu C. Trajectory analysis of BMI increase induced by second-generation antipsychotics in first-episode schizophrenia: a secondary analysis based on CNFEST***. Schizophrenia (Heidelb). 2025 Dec 4;12(1):7. doi: 10.1038/s41537-025-00710-1.
• Dai N, Huang B, Gao T, Zheng Y, Shi C, Pu C, Yu X. Initial attitudes toward a drug predict medication adherence in first-episode patients with schizophrenia: a 1-year prospective study in China. BMC Psychiatry. 2023 Dec 5;23(1):907. doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-05419-y.
• Cheng Z, Yuan Y, Han X, Yang L, Zeng X, Yang F, Lu Z, Wang C, Deng H, Zhao J, Yu X. Which Subgroup of First-Episode Schizophrenia Patients Can Remit During the First Year of Antipsychotic Treatment? Front Psychiatry. 2020 Jun 19;11:566. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00566. eCollection 2020.
• Han X, Yuan YB, Yu X, Zhao JP, Wang CY, Lu Z, Yang FD, Dong H, Wu YF, Ungvari GS, Xiang YT, Chiu HF. The Chinese First-Episode Schizophrenia Trial: background and study design. East Asian Arch Psychiatry. 2014 Dec;24(4):169-73.

Drugs

Indications