Is cognitive enhancement therapy equally effective for patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder?

Abstract

Patients with schizoaffective disorder (SZA) experience significant deficits in cognitive functioning similar to those seen in patients with schizophrenia (SZ), which are associated with poor functional outcomes. Cognitive remediation (CR) has shown promise in improving cognitive and functional outcomes in patients with SZ: however, no studies have compared these effects across diagnoses. We compared patients with SZ and SZA after cognitive enhancement therapy (CET) or enriched supportive therapy (EST). Both patient groups improved in multiple domains after CET, and diagnosis did not significantly moderate this relationship. Extending CR to all patients in which cognitive dysfunction is a core feature may be indicated.