Dear Colleagues,

Schizophrenia remains one of the most debilitating diseases, affecting 20 million people worldwide. It has been estimated that the economic burden associated with schizophrenia ranges from USD 94 million to USD 104 billion annually, placing it among the leading causes of global ill-health and disability.

Schizophrenia is a complex multifactorial brain disorder that commonly emerges in late adolescence or early adulthood, with a peak between ages 18 and 25. In its most common form, schizophrenia is characterized by a loss of contact with reality, including delusions, hallucinations, unusual or bizarre behavior, and impaired cognition and social interactions.

Despite more than 30 years of neuroscientific, pharmacological, and psychosocial research, we still do not have a comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiology of this disorder; therefore, the overall prognosis of schizophrenia has improved only marginally.  It is well known that the chronicity of the disease has a great impact on the functional outcome and that a frank psychotic episode is usually preceded by a prodromal phase of attenuated psychotic symptoms and decline in functioning. In the prodromal phase, patients experience changes in feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and behavior. Intervention during this phase could prevent the transition to psychosis and is therefore of high relevance.

In a joint effort, the Special Issue of the Journal of Personalized Medicine aims to provide insights into reliable biomarkers that can be used as diagnostics or predictors of treatment outcomes and to promote tailored therapeutic interventions. Contributions will include, but are not limited to, original research articles and literature reviews dealing with biomarker identification through clinical, neuroimaging, and genetic approaches, targeted assessment tools, and pharmacotherapy, along with non-pharmacological interventions. Last but not least, research shedding light on the use and implementation of machine learning algorithms and their application in clinical practice to improve precision in mental health interventions are welcome.

Dr. Nerisa Banaj
Guest Editor

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• biomarkers
• targeted assessment
• neuropsychology
• cognitive enhancers
• clinical awareness
• metacognition
• early diagnosis
• relapse prevention
• best clinical practice