Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Specialist referral unearths wide spectrum of adult primary immune deficiencies

The range of adult primary immune deficiencies is considerable and the majority of patients are diagnosed only after specialist referral, conclude Canadian scientists who identified two novel patient groups with humoral abnormalities.

20 Aug 2012

Pulvinar regulates communication between clusters of brain cells

A mysterious region deep in the human brain could be where we sort through the onslaught of stimuli from the outside world and focus on the information most important to our behavior and survival, Princeton University researchers have found.

18 Aug 2012

Allergy transmission may be gender specific

Parents with allergies are more likely to pass them on to their same gender children than to children of the opposite gender, say researchers.

17 Aug 2012

Shorter DUP linked to better long-term schizophrenia outcomes

A shorter duration of untreated psychosis is associated with improved long-term outcomes in patients with schizophrenia, researchers report.

17 Aug 2012

HRT linked to ulcerative colitis in postmenopausal women

Taking postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy increases the risk for ulcerative colitis, but not Crohn’s disease, a study shows.

17 Aug 2012

Tofacitinib shows promise in active ulcerative colitis

Tofacitinib can induce a clinical response in the majority of patients with moderate to severe, active ulcerative colitis, a placebo-controlled trial has shown.

16 Aug 2012

Happiness undiminished in FES patients

Results from a Canadian study suggest that patients who have experienced a first episode of schizophrenia are just as happy as mentally healthy individuals, despite significant functional impairment.

16 Aug 2012

TG2 plays a key role in serotonin deficiency associated with depression

Connecting the dots between two molecules whose levels are decreased in depression and increased by current antidepressants could yield new therapies, researchers say.

15 Aug 2012

Scientists use supercomputers to reveal links between known risk factors and heart biology

About 25,000 Danes currently live with congenital heart defects. Both heredity and environment play a role for these malformations, but exactly how various risk factors influence the development of the heart during pregnancy has been a mystery until now.

15 Aug 2012

Brain language structures altered in patients at genetic risk for schizophrenia

Mentally healthy individuals with a family history of schizophrenia display alterations in brain areas associated with language, US researchers report.

14 Aug 2012

Sleep impairment linked to bipolar disorder course in teens

Sleep impairment plays a significant role in the course of bipolar disorder among adolescents, US study results suggest.

14 Aug 2012

Schizophrenia and the immune system: an interview with Prof Cyndi Shannon Weickert

Schizophrenia is the most disabling disease impacting youth today. It impacts 1% of the total population and typically causes withdrawal from society, loss in IQ, disordered thought and speech, hallucinations and delusions.

14 Aug 2012

Tofacitinib efficacy suggested for rheumatoid arthritis

The novel oral Janus kinase inhibitor tofacitinib significantly reduces signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, report two phase III trials published in TheNew England Journal of Medicine.

13 Aug 2012

Epigenetic factors involved in treatment-resistance to schizophrenia drugs

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine may have discovered why certain drugs to treat schizophrenia are ineffective in some patients. Published online in Nature Neuroscience, the research will pave the way for a new class of drugs to help treat this devastating mental illness, which impacts one percent of the world's population, 30 percent of whom do not respond to currently available treatments.

13 Aug 2012

Scientists discover how pten gene causes brain changes that lead to autism-like behavior

Scientists affiliated with the UC Davis MIND Institute have discovered how a defective gene causes brain changes that lead to the atypical social behavior characteristic of autism. The research offers a potential target for drugs to treat the condition.

13 Aug 2012

Thyroid disease common in vitiligo patients

Results from a systematic review and meta analysis suggest that thyroid disease is a common comorbidity in people with vitiligo.

10 Aug 2012

Allergies appear to lower brain tumor risk

Testing positive for immunoglobulin E, a biomarker of allergy, reduces a person’s risk for developing glioma, show study findings.

10 Aug 2012

Mirror-gazing illusion more intense in schizophrenia

Patients with schizophrenia report more intense perceptual illusions during the mirror-gazing task than do mentally healthy people, report researchers who also found that the patients were more likely to believe their illusions were real.

10 Aug 2012

Four predictors for relapse in FEP patients identified

Medication non-adherence, persistent substance use disorder, carers' critical comments, and poorer premorbid adjustment are significant predictors for relapse in patients treated for a first episode of psychosis, a review and meta-analysis of published studies shows.

9 Aug 2012

Two major classes of brain cells repress neural activity in specific mathematical ways

The brain has billions of neurons, arranged in complex circuits that allow us to perceive the world, control our movements and make decisions. Deciphering those circuits is critical to understanding how the brain works and what goes wrong in neurological disorders.

9 Aug 2012