Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Lilly to extend patient assistance programs for Medicare patients

Eli Lilly and Company has announced that it will be extending its existing patient assistance program, LillyAnswers, through the end of this year to qualifying patients currently participating in the program, to help bridge the gap in coverage for people who need Lilly medicines, but are not yet enrolled in Medicare Part D.

11 May 2006

Olanzapine appears to lower or delay full-blown psychosis

For young people who clearly seem to be developing early signs of schizophrenia, treatment with the antipsychotic drug olanzapine appears to lower or delay the rate of conversion to full-blown psychosis, according to an article by a Yale School of Medicine researcher in the May issue of The American Journal of Psychiatry.

3 May 2006

Study indicates how drug efficacy can be increased by manipulating the signalling mechanism

Researchers believe they have found a way to change the action of 60 percent of currently available medications, in some cases making them many times more effective, according to an article published in the April 21 edition of the journal Science. The discovery has the potential to improve treatments for diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, depression and arthritis. The study describes a new way to manipulate perhaps the most important signaling mechanism in human cells: G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs).

28 Apr 2006

Study shows drugs work differently in the brains of men and women

A Johns Hopkins discovery could lead to tailored treatments for drug abuse and neurological diseases after providing what is believed to be the first evidence in people that amphetamines have a greater effect on men's brains than women's.

24 Apr 2006

Genetic clue found to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

According to researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, there may well be a genetic reason why some people develop Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

24 Apr 2006

How much advice on mental illness treatment is influenced by drug companies?

According to new research in the U.S. most of the experts giving advice on the diagnosis and management of mental illness have had financial links to drug makers such as research funding or stock holdings.

23 Apr 2006

New research shows specific mechanisms may not exist for facial recognition

New research from Georgetown University Medical Center suggests that the brain may not have developed a specific ability for "understanding faces" but instead uses the same kind of pattern recognition techniques to distinguish between people as it uses to search for differences between other groups of objects, such as plants, animals and cars.

19 Apr 2006

Dealing with children's misbehavior

When children's misbehavior or delinquency creates problems, it's not enough to deal with the children alone. Mental health professionals recommend behavioral parent training as well, reports the April issue of Harvard Mental Health Letter.

11 Apr 2006

No evidence that early episodes of schizophrenia without medication result in long-term harm

A University of Southern California - USC review of published research has found no evidence that early episodes of schizophrenia without medication result in long-term harm for patients, casting doubt on the practice to immediately medicate for a year.

28 Mar 2006

No evidence that early episodes of schizophrenia without medication result in long-term harm

A USC review of published research has found no evidence that early episodes of schizophrenia without medication result in long-term harm for patients, casting doubt on the practice to immediately medicate for a year.

23 Mar 2006

Researchers find potential new mechanism for how the brain's reward system works

Amid reports that a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease has caused some patients to become addicted to gambling and sex, University of Pittsburgh researchers have published a study that sheds light on what may have gone wrong.

23 Mar 2006

Hospitalized schizophrenics more likely to have complications

A Johns Hopkins study of more than 1,700 patients with schizophrenia hospitalized for medical or surgical care unrelated to their mental disorder shows they are at least twice as likely as similar patients without schizophrenia to suffer dangerous and expensive adverse events.

15 Mar 2006

Mood-swings impair attention and memory

A review on the neuropsychological aspects of bipolar disorder (alternations of mania and depression) by the group of Eduard Vieta (University of Barcelona) points to impairments in intellectual functioning in this patient population.

13 Mar 2006

Yale School of Medicine expands research using transcranial magnetic stimulation for schizophrenia

Yale School of Medicine researchers are recruiting patients nationally for a clinical trial using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to help still the voices that are so troubling to some persons with schizophrenia.

9 Mar 2006

Repligen commences phase 2 trial of RG2417 for bipolar depression

Repligen Corporation today announced that the Company has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of RG2417, an oral formulation of uridine, in patients with bipolar depression.

9 Mar 2006

Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may influence mood, personality and behavior

In a study of 106 healthy volunteers, researchers found that participants who had lower blood levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids were more likely to report mild or moderate symptoms of depression, a more negative outlook and be more impulsive.

7 Mar 2006

Eating fish keeps mind as well as heart, happy and healthy

According to researchers in the U.S., Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may have more of an influence on mood, personality and behavior, than previously thought.

6 Mar 2006

SRY protein explains why men more likely to develop Parkinson's

Scientists at Prince Henry's Institute, Melbourne, and the University of California, Los Angeles, have discovered that SRY, the male protein that forms the testes is also produced in the brain region affected in Parkinson's disease.

24 Feb 2006

SRY gene directly controls neuronal function in the brain

Shaped by much previous research, the prevailing view regarding sex-specific differences in the brain is that they are caused by circulating sex hormones, which are generated outside the brain and influence certain aspects of brain development, as well as brain function in adults.

23 Feb 2006

Researchers create animal model of any schizophrenic characteristics

Researchers have developed a mouse strain in which the abnormal activity of the dopamine machinery in a specific part of the brain causes cognitive and behavioral impairments mimicking those in human schizophrenics.

20 Feb 2006