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.''

Early intermodality dysfunction predicts schizophrenia risk

Researchers have found abnormalities in the way infants of parents with schizophrenia perceive the way they move and how this relates to vision, touch, hearing, and orientation.

25 Sep 2013

Researchers identify molecular pathway linking ICU ventilation to brain damage

At least 30 percent of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) suffer some form of mental dysfunction as reflected in anxiety, depression, and especially delirium. In mechanically-ventilated ICU patients, the incidence of delirium is particularly high, about 80 percent, and may be due in part to damage in the hippocampus, though how ventilation is increasing the risk of damage and mental impairment has remained elusive.

25 Sep 2013

Prefrontal glutamate abnormalities confined to established psychosis

Abnormalities in glutamate and glutamine levels in the prefrontal cortex are only present in patients with chronic schizophrenia, say researchers.

24 Sep 2013

Inflammation tracks mania course

Markers of inflammation are elevated in patients who are hospitalized for acute mania, a study shows.

24 Sep 2013

Adolescents with psychosis face long treatment delays

Adolescents have a duration of untreated psychosis that is approximately twice that seen in adults, UK study findings show.

20 Sep 2013

Visual clue to schizophrenia pathology

Researchers say that retinal imaging could be a useful tool for studying some of the pathologic processes associated with schizophrenia.

19 Sep 2013

‘Risk circuits’ for schizophrenia refined

A study sheds further light on the brain circuits that may underlie risk for schizophrenia.

16 Sep 2013

Psychiatrist documents how schizophrenia impacts brain tissue

It's hard to fully understand a mental disease like schizophrenia without peering into the human brain. Now, a study by University of Iowa psychiatry professor Nancy Andreasen uses brain scans to document how schizophrenia impacts brain tissue as well as the effects of anti-psychotic drugs on those who have relapses.

12 Sep 2013

High-risk youths need help regardless of psychosis conversion

Young people at clinical high risk for psychosis often have poor outcomes even if they do not actually develop psychosis, a study shows.

11 Sep 2013

Psychotic experiences ‘not always pathologic’

A study backs the existence of “healthy schizotypy,” in which psychotic experiences do not lead to mental illness.

10 Sep 2013

Plasma marker inflames schizophrenia risk

Elevated plasma levels of the inflammatory molecule C-reactive protein may be a marker of an increased risk for developing schizophrenia, a study suggests.

6 Sep 2013

International team of scientists discover new disease related to inability to process Vitamin B12

An international team of scientists, including University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado researchers, has discovered a new disease related to an inability to process Vitamin B12.

6 Sep 2013

Acute manic episodes linked to increased edema risk

Bipolar disorder patients admitted to hospital with a manic episode are at an increased risk for lower limb edema, compared with their peers with depressive or non-affective psychosis episodes, study findings show.

5 Sep 2013

Research finding provides blueprint for understanding how the brain communicates with itself

During a normal conversation, your brain is constantly adjusting the volume to soften the sound of your own voice and boost the voices of others in the room.

4 Sep 2013

Genetic score backs schizophrenia spectrum

Researchers report that polygenic scores derived from one well-characterized cohort of schizophrenia patients correspond to clinical diagnostic categories in another.

3 Sep 2013

Researchers develop model that completes bridge between cellular and human studies of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is one of the most devastating neurological conditions, with only 30 percent of sufferers ever experiencing full recovery. While current medications can control most psychotic symptoms, their side effects can leave individuals so severely impaired that the disease ranks among the top ten causes of disability in developed countries.

31 Aug 2013

Blood biomarkers predict suicidality

Researchers have found possible blood biomarkers for suicidal behavior that could help identify psychiatric patients at risk.

29 Aug 2013

Negative symptoms ‘key to recovery’ in first-episode psychosis

The severity of negative symptoms in people with first-episode psychosis is a strong determinant of subsequent recovery, a long-term study has shown.

29 Aug 2013

Cannabis affects addiction processes in adolescent brain

The nature of the teenage brain makes users of cannabis amongst this population particularly at risk of developing addictive behaviors and suffering other long-term negative effects, according to researchers at the University of Montreal and New York's Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

27 Aug 2013

Antipsychotic drugs for children with behavioral problems may put at risk for type 2 diabetes

Prescribing of "atypical" antipsychotic medications to children and young adults with behavioral problems or mood disorders may put them at unnecessary risk for type 2 diabetes, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center study shows.

22 Aug 2013