Discussion COS is the best studied of the psychotic disorders of childhood. The neurobiological studies include neuroimaging, family studies (which point to phenotypic markers), and neurocognitive findings, and strongly support continuity with the adult form of schizophrenia. Further work is needed in describing the neurocognition of children with affective disorders. The affective psychotic disorders including BPAD, while indicating continuity with adult forms, would clearly benefit from a comprehensive study, as has been seen in COS. Hopefully, the controversy over the identification of psychosis Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and the diagnosis of these valid disorders will narrow the focus. Long-term follow-up studies including

genetic and other vulnerabilities, neuroimaging, and AZD7762 cost neurometabolic studies will inform researchers and clinicians as to the care and treatment of these very ill children. ‘there are clearly too few studies of atypical neuroleptics in the pediatric population. The long-term effects of chronic treatment in the developing child are unknown. Careful,

Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical well-designed studies of available medications in the various psychotic disorders in order to Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical guide appropriate treatment should be a priority. Novel medications with potential antipsychotic applications, such as dopamine partial agonists, also require pediatric study. The current trend in treatment research of COS involves large controlled treatment studies of atypical neuroleptics for COS. There is also need for studies in the psychotherapi.es and psychosocial treatments to help the patients and their families to manage their illness. Selected abbreviations and acronyms ADHD attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder AE adverse Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical effect BPAD bipolar affective disorder BPRS Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale CDRS Child Depression Rating Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Scale CGAF Clinical Global Assessment of Function CGI-I Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement CGI-S Clinical Global Impressions-Severity COS childhood-onset schizophrenia DICA Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents DISC

Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children EPS extrapyramidal Levetiracetam symptom K-PANSS Kiddie Version of the Positive and Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia K-SADS Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School- Aged. Children MDD major depressive disorder MRI magnetic resonance, imaging 1H-MRS magnetic resonance spectroscopy OCD obsessive-compulsive disorder PNOS psychosis not otherwise specified Y-MRS Young Mania Rating Scale
A century of research in genetic epidemiology has consistently supported the involvement of a major, complex, genetic component in the risk for schizophrenia. However, molecular genetic studies have produced conflicting results: several chromosomal regions have been implicated, but none of the findings met stringent statistical significance criteria and positive findings have not been replicated.