Research progress in early-onset schizophrenia

A substantial proportion of patients with schizophrenia experience the onset of their illness by age 18. Data from phenomenological, cognitive, neuroimaging, and genetic studies suggest a similar profile of clinical and neurobiological abnormalities between early- and adult-onset patients. However, children and adolescents with schizophrenia have been found to have more severe premorbid neurodevelopmental abnormalities, worse long-term outcome, more cytogenetic anomalies, and potentially greater loading of family histories for schizophrenia and associated spectrum disorders than their adult counterparts. Together, these data support a hypothesis that early-onset schizophrenia may reflect a more severe form of the disorder associated with a greater genetic predisposition. It is anticipated that future imaging and genetic studies of this cohort will provide further insight into the neurodevelopmental origins of schizophrenia and the complexity by which genetic and environmental factors interact to modulate susceptibility and/ or disease phenotype. The articles on this theme provide updated findings from brain magnetic resonance imaging, neurocognition, and clinical trials in this unique cohort.