Is previous forensic mental examination a useful marker indicating effective violence relapse prevention among psychotic patients?
While primary prevention of crime for the larger population of all patients with psychosis is not feasible, secondary prevention (prevention of reoffending) might be possible by focusing on the small subgroup, which had undergone a previous forensic mental examination. Obligatory follow-up and treatment in outpatient care would probably decrease recidivistic offending among discharged forensic psychiatric patients and among those offenders found not guilty by reason of insanity but not considered to fulfill criteria for involuntary hospital treatment.
We conclude that ECP is present in several molecular forms with varying biological activities. Some of this functional heterogeneity is based on the genetic polymorphism of the ECP gene and some on post-translational modifications. In subjects carrying the ECP 97(thr) variant, the cytotoxic activity may be disguised by N-linked glycosylation of the active site.