Psychosis News and Research

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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.''

Scientists produce strongest evidence yet of schizophrenia’s causes

An international team of scientists led by Cardiff University researchers has provided the strongest evidence yet of what causes schizophrenia - a condition that affects around 1% of the global population...

3 Jun 2015

Childhood trauma increases vulnerability to different health problems in later life

Long-term changes in immune function caused by childhood trauma could explain increased vulnerability to a range of health problems in later life, according to new research by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London and the NIHR Maudsley BRC.

3 Jun 2015

Hallucinations, delusions more frequent in general population

Hallucinations and delusions in the general population are more common than previously thought. An international study led by The University of Queensland and Harvard Medical School found that hearing voices and seeing things others cannot impacts about five per cent of the general population at some point in their lives.

28 May 2015

Researchers find way to prevent, reduce or delay cannabis use amongst at-risk youth

Responding to rapidly shifting legal and cultural environments, researchers at the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine Children's Hospital have found a way to prevent, reduce or delay cannabis use amongst some at-risk youth. Cannabis users are at risk of neurocognitive deficits, reduced educational and occupational attainment, motor vehicle accidents, exacerbation of psychiatric symptoms, and precipitation of psychosis.

26 May 2015

Aptensio XR once-daily treatment for ADHD to be available in Summer 2015

Today, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals L.P. announced that Aptensio XR, a once-daily central nervous system stimulant indicated for the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will be available to patients beginning Summer 2015.

22 May 2015

HQO report shows variations across Ontario's long-term care homes regarding antipsychotic drug use

There are major differences across Ontario's long-term care homes in the percentage of residents who are being prescribed antipsychotic medications, according to Looking for Balance, a report from Health Quality Ontario, the provincial advisor on health care quality.

20 May 2015

New UCLA study finds Naltrexone drug as promising treatment for methamphetamine addiction

A new study by UCLA researchers has found that Naltrexone, a drug used to treat alcoholism, may also be a promising treatment for addiction to methamphetamine.

19 May 2015

Brain & Behavior Research Foundation to award grants to 40 scientists for research into mental illness

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation today announced its 2015 Independent Investigator Grants which will award $3.9 million in funding to 40 mid-career scientists from 30 institutions in 16 countries.

14 May 2015

Hallucinations, delusions associated with psychiatric disorders seldom trigger violent crimes

Mass shootings at the hands of unhinged loners - such as those in Aurora, Colorado; Santa Barbara, California, and Newtown, Connecticut - perpetuate a commonly held belief that mental illness triggers violent crimes.

14 May 2015

Study finds extremely high levels of cardiovascular risk factors in people with psychosis

Extremely high levels of cardiovascular risk factors have been found in people with established psychosis, with central obesity evident in over 80 per cent of participants, in a study by researchers from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London.

12 May 2015

New study finds that some immigrants, refugees in Ontario at higher risk of psychotic disorders

Immigrants from the Caribbean and Bermuda, as well as refugees from East Africa and South Asia, have a 1.5 to 2 times higher risk of psychotic disorders compared to the general population of Ontario, Canada, according to a new study by researchers at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

12 May 2015

New scanning methods could help predict people vulnerable to schizophrenia

New scanning methods which map the wiring of the brain could provide a valuable new tool to predict people at risk of schizophrenia, according to a new study.

11 May 2015

Orexigen Therapeutics provides update on business and financial results for Q1 2015

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. today announced business and financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

8 May 2015

WHO and UNHCR jointly issue new guide to better identify, manage mental health needs

Worldwide close to 80 million people are currently impacted by humanitarian emergencies arising from natural disasters and armed conflicts, such as those in the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, and more recently, Nepal. WHO estimates 5% to 10% of these people suffer from a mental health condition such as depression as a result of the emergency.

5 May 2015

Predominant first Alzheimer’s symptoms vary with diagnosis age

The symptoms presented by patients newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease vary with age, with younger patients less likely to have initial memory problems, research shows.

30 Apr 2015

Early neuropsychiatric symptoms prevalent in PD

Neuropsychiatric symptoms, but not cognitive impairment, are common in early untreated patients with Parkinson’s disease, suggest findings from the multicentre Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative.

7 Apr 2015

Study: Broken communication in brain regions appears to worsen Huntington's disease

Indiana University researchers have found that broken communication in a specific part of the brain plays a role in the involuntary physical movements that affect individuals with Huntington's disease.

7 Apr 2015

Long-term effects of using cognitive-enhancing drugs by healthy people need to be determined

The government, pharmaceutical industry, and national medical organisations need to work together to look at the harms and benefits of long-term use of cognitive-enhancing drugs by healthy individuals, say neuroscientists Professor Barbara Sahakian and Dr Sharon Morein-Zamir from the University of Cambridge in the UK, writing in a Personal View in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

2 Apr 2015

Antibodies may trigger psychiatric illness in children

A world first study revealing the presence of two antibodies in a sub-group of children experiencing their first episode of psychosis affirms a longstanding recognition that auto-immune disorders play a significant role in psychiatric illness.

31 Mar 2015

People with severe schizophrenia have major differences in brain networks

People with a severe form of schizophrenia have major differences in their brain networks compared to others with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and healthy individuals, a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health shows.

19 Mar 2015