Psychosis News and Research

RSS

Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People suffering from psychosis are said to be ''psychotic.''

AKT1 genotype influences risk of psychotic disorders in cannabis users

The ability of cannabis to produce psychosis has long been an important public health concern. This concern is growing in importance as there is emerging data that cannabis exposure during adolescence may increase the risk of developing schizophrenia, a serious psychotic disorder. Further, with the advent of medical marijuana, a new group of people with uncertain psychosis risk may be exposed to cannabis.

15 Nov 2012

White matter alterations evident before psychosis development

Results from a UK study show that white matter integrity is reduced in patients at ultra-high risk for psychosis, although to a lesser extent than in first-episode psychosis patients.

13 Nov 2012

Pay-for-performance schemes may help save lives of NHS patients

New research into controversial pay-for-performance schemes has suggested they may help to save the lives of NHS patients.

From The University of Manchester 8 Nov 2012

Cannabis use causes temporary cognitive breakdown in non-psychotic individuals: Study

Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have found new support for their theory that cannabis use causes a temporary cognitive breakdown in non-psychotic individuals, leading to long-term psychosis.

3 Nov 2012

Social disadvantage may increase risk for psychosis

Results from a UK study suggest that social disadvantage is associated with an increased risk for developing psychosis.

1 Nov 2012

FDA accepts Sunovion’s two LATUDA sNDAs for review

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review two supplemental New Drug Applications (sNDAs) for the use of LATUDA as 1) monotherapy and 2) adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate, both to treat adult patients with depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (bipolar depression).

31 Oct 2012

Homocysteine not linked to cognition in FEP

Patients experiencing a first episode of psychosis have significantly higher homocysteine levels than mentally healthy individuals, researchers report.

26 Oct 2012

Social disadvantage may increase risk for psychosis

Results from a UK study suggest that social disadvantage is associated with an increased risk for developing psychosis.

25 Oct 2012

Ethnic density linked to psychosis risk

Reduced own-group ethnic density within a given geographic area is associated with an increased risk for psychotic experiences, results from a UK study show.

24 Oct 2012

Antipsychotic drug quandary for Alzheimer’s patients

Stopping treatment with risperidone to limit side effects risks the return of psychosis or agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease who have been taking the drug to suppress such symptoms, research shows.

23 Oct 2012

Pfizer announces intention to acquire NextWave

Pfizer Inc. today announced its intention to acquire NextWave Pharmaceuticals, a privately held, specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of unique products for the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

23 Oct 2012

Psychotic reactions associated with natural testosterone booster products

In a report published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics a group of Italian investigators describe the case of a young men developing a psychotic reaction to natural testosterone booster products.

20 Oct 2012

Advanced adoptive paternal age not linked to schizophrenia risk

Swedish researchers have found no evidence to suggest that advanced adoptive paternal age is associated with an increased risk for schizophrenia in adoptees.

19 Oct 2012

Nonmotor symptoms common in early-stage PD

Nonmotor symptoms occur in nearly all individuals with Parkinson’s disease, Italian study results suggest.

17 Oct 2012

Cytokine levels altered in FEP, schizophrenia patients

Levels of certain cytokines are altered in patients with first-episode psychosis and patients with schizophrenia, research shows.

17 Oct 2012

Chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains common genetic risk for bipolar disorder

One of the biggest challenges in psychiatric genetics has been to replicate findings across large studies. Scientists at King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry have now performed one of the largest ever genetic replication studies of bipolar affective disorder, with 28,000 subjects recruited from 36 different research centers. Their findings provide compelling evidence that the chromosome 3p21.1 locus contains a common genetic risk for bipolar disorder, the PBRM1 gene.

15 Oct 2012

NRG1 gene plays an important role in cannabis dependence

A paper by Shizhong Han and colleagues in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry implicates a new gene in the risk for cannabis dependence. This gene, NRG1, codes for the ErbB4 receptor, a protein implicated in synaptic development and function.

12 Oct 2012

Social, metacognition deficits in schizophrenia predict dysfunction type

Research findings suggest that deficits in social cognition and metacognition among individuals with schizophrenia represent different forms of dysfunction and symptomatology.

4 Oct 2012

New spontaneous genetic mutations play a significant role in schizophrenia

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have identified dozens of new spontaneous genetic mutations that play a significant role in the development of schizophrenia, adding to the growing list of genetic variants that can contribute to the disease.

4 Oct 2012

Genetics, trauma independently influence subthreshold psychosis

Study findings published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica confirm that both genetics and environmental factors such as trauma independently influence the development and persistence of subthreshold psychotic symptoms.

2 Oct 2012