Screening for Childhood-Onset Psychotic Disorders

Up to 250 children and adolescents ages 5 to 18, meeting DSM IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and psychotic disorder not otherwise specified, are currently under study in our group. The purpose of this protocol is to allow systematic outpatient, and subsequent inpatient, screening evaluation to establish an accurate diagnosis for research, obtain clinical and neurobiological research measurements, evaluate the patient s response to open treatment with antipsychotic(s), and allow longitudinal follow-up. Subjects and first-degree relatives may then be enrolled in Protocol 89-M-0006, Brain Imaging of Childhood Onset Psychiatric Disorders, Endocrine Disorders and Healthy Controls, and Protocol 84-M-0050, Biochemical, Physiological, and Psychological Measures in Normal Controls and Relatives of Psychiatric Patients. If additional research protocols are available, this screening protocol will represent an entry point for them. The evaluation process will include a one-day outpatient psychiatric screening interview with proband and family. If it is thought that the child is likely to meet criteria for childhood onset psychoses, an inpatient evaluation will then be offered for clarifying the diagnosis. This may involve: 1) Up to 3 weeks of inpatient observation on the child s current medication regimen. 2) Tapering of psychotropic medications (1-4 weeks, depending upon type and dosage). 3) Observation for up to 3 weeks drug free, in order to confirm the diagnosis, and 4) Once the diagnosis is confirmed, two to ten weeks of treatment with antipsychotic(s); 5) Discharge to the care of his/her community psychiatrist. Treatment will be guided by what is considered the subject s best clinical interest. During the inpatient stay, or occasionally as part of the outpatient screening, we will obtain neurocognitive testing, research blood draws including blood for genetic testing of the proband, and a research brain MRI scan. A skin biopsy may be obtained either during the inpatient stay or a follow up visit. This protocol also includes a study 100 non-schizophrenic children ages 6-13 with psychotic symptoms (e.g. hallucinations or delusions) to extend our studies of early neuro-developmental biomarkers and of the factors that either promote or stop the progression to full schizophrenia (resilience or conversion factors). These children will be recruited from the local community, evaluated as outpatients and followed prospectively for five years. Measures will include diagnostic interviews, clinical ratings, neurocognitive testing, anatomic and functional imaging, and blood for routine and genetic testing.