The Cognitive Disorders Unit carries out sessions of Psychoeducational Groups (PG) for caregivers of patients diagnosed with cognitive impairment (CI). The aim is to educate about the disease, improve the caregiver’s self-care and learn how to take better care of the sick.

Analyze the profile of the caregivers that participate in PG and assess changes in their psychological state.

Subjects: 110 caregivers of patients diagnosed with mild-moderate CI who have participated in PG. Methodology: sociodemographic data of the caregiver and patient are collected. The following scales are passed: General-Health-Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Global-Deterioration-Scale, Barthel-Index. 5 sessions of 90 minutes are carried out every fortnight. An opinion questionnaire and the GHQ-12 are administered at the end of the sessions.

86% of caregivers are women: 37% spouses and 55% daughters; mean age 57; 92% of patients live with the caregiver. 62% of caregivers present some kind of psychological disorder that is significantly reduced (p=0,0003) after some sessions. After PG: 65% of caregivers are able to further enjoy their daily activities 46% improve concentration capacity 42% improve sleeping and mood. Opinion Questionnaire Results: 98% of caregivers are satisfied with the activities, the topics addressed and their applicability.

The participants in PG were mostly daughters of patients, with average age 57, and living in the same household. Participation in PG improves the information and skills of caregivers, and reduces psychological disorders by improving their mood, their ability to concentrate, their quality of sleep and enjoyment of daily activities.

Clozapine is the only drug approved for resistant schizophrenia, but remains underused because of its side effects. Sedation is common, but its management is unclear.

To analyze factors associated with clozapine-induced sedation and the efficacy of common treatment strategies.

To determine clozapine-induced sedation factors and possible therapeutic strategies.

Using two years’ electronic records of a community cohort of resistant schizophrenia spectrum disorder cases on clozapine, we performed three analyses: a cross-sectional analysis of which factors were associated with number of hours slept (objective proxy of sedation), and two prospective analyses: which factors were associated with changes in hours slept, and the efficacy of the main pharmacological strategies for improving sedation.

One hundred and thirty-three patients were included; 64.7% slept at least 9 hours/daily. Among monotherapy patients (n = 30), only norclozapine levels (r = .367, P = .033) correlated with sleeping hours. Multiple regression analyses confirmed the findings (r = .865, P < .00001). Using the cohort prospectively assessed (n = 107), 42 patients decreased the number of hours slept between two consecutive appointments. Decreasing clozapine (40%) or augmenting with aripiprazole (36%) were the most common factors. In the efficacy analysis, these two strategies were recommended to 22 (20.6%) and 23 (21.5%) subjects, respectively. The majority (81.8% and 73.9%) did not report differences in the hours slept.

Sedationis common and involves pharmacological and non-pharmacological factors. The only correlation was a weak correlation between norclozapine plasma levels and total sleeping hours. Reducing clozapine and aripiprazole augmentation were the most successful strategies to ameliorate sedation, although both strategies were effective only in a limited numbers of subjects.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.