Hallucination News and Research

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A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space.

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

Generic antipsychotic drugs can protect brain cells from a virus that causes a fatal nervous system disorder, according to research conducted at Brown University and Case Western Reserve University.

18 Nov 2004

Scientists have identified a fault in the brain waves of schizophrenics that may explain their hallucinations and disturbed thinking

The researchers studied the brain waves of normal and schizophrenic patients as they responded to images. Those with the disorder showed no electrical activity in a certain frequency-the “gamma” range, from 30 to 100 brain waves per second-that healthy brain cells use to exchange information about the environment and form mental impressions.

9 Nov 2004

Genes linked to schizophrenia might function to cause the disease

Animal research at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has found how one of the genes linked to schizophrenia might function to cause the disease.

28 Oct 2004

New imaging technology gathers valuable information about the brains of people with schizophrenia

Researchers at the Boston Veterans Affairs Health Care System – Brockton Division, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Massachusetts-Boston are using new imaging technology to gather valuable information about the brains of people with schizophrenia.

24 Oct 2004

Novel treatment using ketamine has shown success in reducing the severe pain caused by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

A novel treatment using a common anesthetic drug has shown success in reducing the severe pain caused by Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), according to a study published in the September 2004 issue of Pain Medicine.

12 Oct 2004

Approval of Abilify (aripiprazole) for the treatment of acute bipolar mania

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical have announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Abilify (aripiprazole) for the treatment of acute bipolar mania, including manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar disorder.

4 Oct 2004

Study to test the effectiveness of anti-depressants in treating symptoms of Parkinson’s disease

While Parkinson’s disease typically brings to mind symptoms such as tremors and slow movement, researchers have found that nearly half of all Parkinson’s patients also suffer from depression. While it might seem natural that someone who has a disease such as Parkinson’s might become depressed, it’s not so simple, says neurologist Irene Richard, M.D., who leads the study.

27 Sep 2004

Low-dose infusion of ketamine completely relieves pain of complex regional pain syndrome

Limited, low-dose infusions of a widely used anesthetic drug may relieve the often intolerable and debilitating pain of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center researcher found.

23 Sep 2004

A low salt diet can be extremely dangerous for elderly people

Professor Füsgen presented his findings at the European Geriatrics Congress in Vienna, which ended yesterday (September 19). They show that the symptoms of hyponatraemia (low sodium level in the blood), which are tiredness, difficulty in concentrating and loss of balance, can develop into confusion and even coma if left untreated.

20 Sep 2004

Further evidence of a genetic link to schizophrenia

Mice with specific genetic mutations exhibit behavior similar to human psychosis, report UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas researchers, providing further support to the notion of a genetic link to schizophrenia.

30 Aug 2004

Mothers who catch a flu during pregnancy may increase the risk of their child developing schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime — more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year.

3 Aug 2004

First well-conducted studies of use of antipsychotics in people with Alzheimer’s

A member of a class of drugs that are widely prescribed for abnormal behavioral symptoms in Alzheimer’s – but not often studied in people with the degenerative brain disease – proved to be effective and well tolerated in treating agitation in people with severe Alzheimer’s

23 Jul 2004

People who suffer from severe depression have more nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls emotion

Studies of postmortem brains of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) showed a 31 percent greater than average number of nerve cells in the portion of the thalamus involved with emotional regulation.

2 Jul 2004

Research will test the effectiveness of new drug treatments for the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has awarded a four-year, $9 million contract to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and five other academic medical centers to create a network of Treatment Units for Research on Neurocognition and Schizophrenia (TURNS).

8 May 2004

Study shows MIRAPEX(R) (pramipexole) relieves patients with restless legs syndrome

Results from a large-scale, randomized, double-blind study show MIRAPEX(R) (pramipexole) provides rapid relief in patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS).

28 Apr 2004

Potential new drug may slow the progression of the Parkinson's disease

An international team of Parkinson's disease researchers has shown that a potential new drug is effective at treating patients in the early stages of Parkinson's and may even slow the progression of the disease. The results from the Parkinson Study Group are in the April 19 issue of the Archives of Neurology.

22 Apr 2004

FDA approves new breakthrough Parkinson's drug

FDA has approved Apokyn (apomorphine) as an injectable drug for treating Parkinson's patients during episodes of "hypomobility," so-called "off periods" in which the patient becomes immobile or unable to perform activities of daily living.

21 Apr 2004

New drug is effective at treating patients in the early stages of Parkinson’s

An international team of Parkinson’s disease researchers has shown that a potential new drug is effective at treating patients in the early stages of Parkinson’s and may even slow the progression of the disease.

20 Apr 2004

Surprises found In gene variation associated with schizophrenia

Approximately two percent of Caucasians have a gene segment variation that can cause a certain form of schizophrenia. Most people with the variation, known as a polymorphism, do not have the disease. A University of Iowa Health Care study reveals a good prognosis for people who do have this form of schizophrenia.

12 Apr 2004

Tablet of Modafinil may improve a schizophrenics memory

Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge recently identified a method of improving cognitive functioning in patients with schizophrenia, without the side-effects traditionally found with cognitive enhancers. Ms. Danielle Turner, together with colleagues from the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Prof. Barbara Sahakian, undertook research to explore the potential for a memory drug to improve cognition in patients with schizophrenia. The project received funding from the Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council. The work was published online on March 10 2004 at The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology website and is now in press in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

22 Mar 2004