Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Rett disease progression altered by changing expression of gene

Scientists from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Brandeis University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology report in the journal Neuron that increasing levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) alleviates symptoms in a mouse model of the childhood disorder Rett Syndrome.

13 Feb 2006

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Otsuka Pharmaceutical announce availability of 2 mg Abilify (aripiprazole) tablet

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. today announced two newly available options of Abilify (aripiprazole) -- a 2 mg tablet strength and a nonrefrigerated oral solution (1 mg/mL).

7 Feb 2006

HMRI researcher lights a path to understanding brain diseases

Neurologist Mike Harrington of Pasadena, California's Huntington Medical Research Institutes argues that soon we may be able to detect brain disease before symptoms even begin. The secret is in the cerebrospinal fluid, the clear liquid that cushions our brain and spinal cord.

2 Feb 2006

Cannabis use does not cause schizophrenia

According to a new report by a British government advisory body, the regular use of cannabis though it can have real and significant mental health effects it is unlikely to cause schizophrenia.

24 Jan 2006

Sensory attenuation

Anticipating our own touch - for example in tickling oneself - reduces its impact, says Queen's psychologist Dr. Randy Flanagan, a member of the university's Centre for Neuroscience Studies. This is evidence of an important human adaptation that helps us interact with objects in our environment.

18 Jan 2006

Link between cat faeces and schizophrenia

Researchers have found stronger evidence for a link between a parasite in cat faeces and undercooked meat and an increased risk of schizophrenia.

18 Jan 2006

Single gene may hold key to schizophrenia

By deleting a single gene in a small portion of the brains of mice, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center found that the animals were affected in a way resembling schizophrenia in humans.

18 Jan 2006

Mental illness linked to diet

According to new research released this week, mental health is linked to diet and changes to diets over the last 50 years may hold the key to the rise of mental illness.

17 Jan 2006

Drugs and electroconvulsive therapy best treatment for severe depression

According to a new study, despite the fact that over the last decade, two treatments which are often castigated in the media, and have raised both public and professional concern, antidepressants such as Prozac and Seroxat, and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), remain the most effective treatments for moderate to severe depression.

16 Jan 2006

Psychiatric patients who smoke

An editorial in the January 2006 issue of the Psychiatric Bulletin reviews the evidence for the effectiveness of gene-based smoking cessation packages, and asks whether they are appropriate for psychiatric patients.

10 Jan 2006

Eating disorders linked to perinatal complications

Certain complications during and immediately after birth are associated with the development of the eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, according to a study in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

2 Jan 2006

Bipolar disorder more common in teenage psychiatric patients

Clinicians at Bradley Hospital, the nation's first psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, have found that bipolar disorder is more common than expected in teens in a psychiatric inpatient setting.

29 Dec 2005

Cannabis medication linked to grandmother's death

A British grandmother who died after being given a controversial and experimental cannabis-based medicine had apparently told her family that she thought the drug was driving her mad.

19 Dec 2005

Study reveals treatment and screening inequalities for patients with mental health problems

Patients with mental health problems may not be receiving the appropriate screening or treatments for illnesses including heart disease and stroke, a report from The University of Nottingham has shown.

7 Dec 2005

Genetics play a part in the inability to stop caffeine use

A study led by Johns Hopkins investigators has shown that women with a serious caffeine habit and a family history of alcohol abuse are more likely to ignore advice to stop using caffeine during pregnancy.

5 Dec 2005

Disruption of normal gene interaction linked to schizophrenia

Disruption of the normal interaction between the genes PRODH and COMT contributes directly to major symptoms of schizophrenia by upsetting the balance of the brain chemicals glutamate and dopamine, according to a group of investigators that includes a scientist now at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

2 Dec 2005