There are various language adaptations of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL). In order to comply with the changes in DSM classification, the Spanish edition of the interview was in need of update and evaluation. K-SADS-PL was adapted to correspond to DSM-5 categories. All clinicians received training, and a 90% agreement was reached. Patients and their parents or guardians were interviewed and videotaped, and the videos were exchanged between raters. Factor analysis was performed and inter-rater reliability was calculated only in the case of diagnoses in which there were more than five patients. A total of 74 subjects were included. The Factor Analysis yielded six factors (Depressive, Stress Hyperarousal, Disruptive Behavioral, Irritable Explosive, Obsessive Repetitive and Encopresis), representing 72% of the variance. Kappa values for inter-rater agreement were larger than 0.7 for over half of the disorders. The factor structure of diagnoses, made with the instrument was found to correspond to the DSM-5 disorder organization. The instrument showed good construct validity and inter-rater reliability, which makes it a useful tool for clinical research studies in children and adolescents.

Background.Previous studies have reported sex differences in the clinical presentation and outcome of adult patients with schizophrenia; the aim of present study was to compare the clinical characteristics, social functioning, adherence to treatment, and cognition of adolescents with this diagnosis in a six-month followup.Methods.A total of 87 adolescents with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizophreniform disorder were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS), the Matrics Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), and the Rating of Medication Influences (ROMI).Results.Both groups showed a similar improvement in all PANSS factors and in the PSP scores during the followup. Males better adhered to treatment. Females displayed better results in the area of social cognition (F=6.3, df = 2,52, andp=0.003) and attention/vigilance (F=8.3, df = 2,51, andp=0.001).Conclusions.Male and female adolescents showed similar clinical presentation and functioning but a different pattern of cognitive improvement and adherence to treatment. This trial is registered with Clinicaltrials.govII3/02/0811.‏

Since the introduction of antipsychotics, especially the so called atypicals, the treatment of schizophrenia has shown important improvements. At the present time, it is preferred to label clozapine and other antipsychotics sharing similar profiles as second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs). These medications have been proposed by some experts as a first line treatment for schizophrenia. It is critical to have reliable data about antipsychotic prescription in Mexico and to create management guidelines based on expert meetings and not only on studies carried out by the pharmaceutical industry. Only this approach will help to make the right decisions for the treatment of schizophrenia. A translated version of Rabinowitz's survey was used to evaluate antipsychotic prescription preferences and patterns in Mexican psychiatrists. The survey questionnaire was sent by mail to 200 psychiatrists from public institutions and private practice in Mexico City and Guadalajara, Mexico. Recommendations for antipsychotics daily doses at different stages of the treatment of schizophrenia varied widely. Haloperidol was considered as the first choice for the treatment of positive symptoms. On the contrary, risperidone was the first option for negative symptoms. For a patient with a high susceptibility for developing extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), risperidone was the first choice. It was also considered that SGAs had advantages over typical antipsychotics in the management of negative symptoms, cognitive impairment and fewer EPS. Besides, there was a clear tendency for prescribing typical antipsychotics at higher doses than recommended and inadequate doses for the atypical ones. Some of the obstacles for the prescription of SGAs include their high cost, deficient knowledge about their indications and dosage, the perception of their being less efficient for the treatment of positive symptoms and the resistance of some Mexican physicians to change their prescription pattern. It is necessary to reach a consensus, in order to establish and standardize the treatment of schizophrenia, based on the information reported in clinical trials and prevailing economic conditions in Mexico.

The potential of video games as diagnostic tools for cognitive deficits has been poorly studied. There is a lack of well-designed studies addressing the psychometric properties and standardization values of video games. Chefmania is a video game designed as a screening test in Spanish to determine cognitive alterations, as well as academic concepts such as number, space, time, and instructions follow-up in children above 6 years of age. The present study aimed to evaluate the validity of Chefmania as well as the normative values of a Mexican sample. The standardization included 266 children divided into three age groups: 6–7, 8–9, and 10–12 years olds; concurrent validity was determined by the correlation between Chefmania and other standardized cognitive batteries. Discriminant validity was determined by the comparison of Chefmania scores between school children and children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Standardization showed an age effect, where older children performed better in Chefmania subtests. Chefmania showed significant and moderate correlations with other cognitive batteries. Children with ADHD showed poorer performance. Chefmania is a valid instrument for the assessment of cognition and is suitable for use in schools.