title: The efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation with RehaCom programme in schizophrenia patients. The role of selected genetic polymorphisms in successful cognitive rehabilitation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Schizophrenic patients present cognitive dysfunctions which are regarded to be one of endophenotypical markers predisposing to schizophrenia. Currently, schizophrenia can be treated as a neurodegenerative and neurodeveloping disease with genetic background.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Assessment of the possible positive effect of neuropsychological rehabilitation in schizophrenia, in patients presenting cognitive dysfunctions. An additional aim was to verify the hypothesis that some genetic polymorphisms can be a prognostic factor for success in neuropsychological rehabilitation.
  
  
  METHODS
  41 participants and 40 control subjects were randomly selected. Both groups had the diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Cognitive functions were checked with the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Trail Making Test, and Stroop Test at the beginning and end of the experiment. In the research group, each patient trained with the rehabilitation programme RehaCom, whereas the control group did not receive such training. Genes COMT rs4680 and BDNF rs6265 were analysed in the genetic part of study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RehaCom procedures appear to be useful in the neuropsychological rehabilitation of cognitive dysfunctions in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. The research group showed a moderate improvement in the training programmes. Analysis of parameters obtained in the neuropsychological tests showed a slight improvement in both groups. At the present time, analysis of the polymorphisms of genes cannot be treated as a prognostic factor for the success of neuropsychological rehabilitation because statistical analyses showed few dependences with little statistical significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cognitive rehabilitation produces moderate improvement in cognitive functioning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Samochowiec
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tybura
authors.forename: Przemyslaw
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bieńkowski
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Karakiewicz
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zaremba Pechmann
authors.forename: Bożena
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mroczek
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D011379:Prognosis; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D055815:Young Adult