Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

New gene linked to schizophrenia and depression

A Scots-led medical research team has identified a new gene linked to major mental illness that links back to a previously discovered gene known to increase the risk of schizophrenia and depression.

20 Nov 2005

LGC licenses first DNA test for response to schizophrenia treatment from the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London

LGC, Europe's leading independent analytical laboratory providing advanced chemical, biochemical and forensic analysis, has announced an exclusive agreement with King’s College London to offer the first pharmacogenetic screening service which will predict whether a patient with schizophrenia will respond positively to the antipsychotic drug clozapine.

8 Nov 2005

Anxiety disorders increase risk of suicidal thoughts

A pre-existing anxiety disorder significantly increases the risk of a subsequent onset of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, according to a study in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

7 Nov 2005

MRI helps early diagnosis of schizophrenia

Researchers may have discovered a new way that may ultimately assist in the early diagnosis of schizophrenia - by utilizing MRI to study the patient's brain.

7 Nov 2005

Fndings shed some light on the brain mechanisms involved in schizophrenia

Scientists have discovered that schizophrenia sufferers are not fooled by a visual illusion and are able to judge it more accurately than non-schizophrenic observers.

24 Oct 2005

Faulty gene may identify those at risk of schizophrenia

Scientists believe they have discovered a genetic defect which could help explain the biological basis of schizophrenia.

24 Oct 2005

Teens with missing part of a chromosome confirm genetic role in schizophrenia

A study in youth who are missing part of a chromosome is further implicating a suspect gene in schizophrenia.

23 Oct 2005

Dopamine link to psychiatric and neurological disorders

A gene that regulates dopamine levels in the brain is involved in the development of schizophrenia in children at high risk for the disorder, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and the University of Geneva.

23 Oct 2005

Protein Oct-6 is not a biological marker for schizophrenia

The protein Oct-6 is not a biological marker for schizophrenia. The results of a study published today in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry contradict previous findings and show that Oct-6, a protein involved in neurodevelopment, is normally expressed in the adult brain and cannot be used to identify patients with schizophrenia.

23 Oct 2005

Evidence is mounting to link toxoplasmosis with schizophrenia

Keep pet cats inside, stop feeding strays, cook meat sufficiently and reconsider the way the veterinary profession and public health agencies think - and teach - about the zoonotic pathogen Toxoplasma gondii.

18 Oct 2005

New information regarding the genetic, cellular and neurological bases of susceptibility to autism and schizophrenia

Two New Jersey research teams are reporting discoveries about the biological nature of psychiatric disorders that may bring them closer to the ultimate goal of finding cures for complex diseases, such as autism and schizophrenia.

9 Oct 2005

First direct clues about how the brain alters the state of consciousness during sleep

In the human brain, cells talk to one another through the routine exchange of electrical signals. But when people fall into a deep sleep, the higher regions of the brain - regions that during waking hours are a bustling grid of neural dialogue - apparently lose their ability to communicate effectively, causing consciousness to fade.

3 Oct 2005

Nicotine has an unusual psychological property that may drive dependence

Associate Professor Athina Markou, Ph.D., who is in the Scripps Research Molecular and Integrative Neurosciences Department at Scripps Research’s La Jolla Campus, and Paul Kenny, Ph.D., a former Research Associate in her laboratory, report in an upcoming issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology that nicotine has an unusual psychological property that may drive dependence.

28 Sep 2005

Delaying having children defies nature and risks heartbreak

...say experts in the British Medical Journal. If women want families and room for manoeuvre they are unwise to wait till their 30s.

26 Sep 2005

New study details side effects of five medications that are currently used to treat people with schizophrenia

A large study funded by NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) provides, for the first time, detailed information comparing the effectiveness and side effects of five medications - both new and older medications - that are currently used to treat people with schizophrenia.

21 Sep 2005

Key neural system at risk from prenatal exposure to alcohol

In a study of adult monkeys who were exposed to moderate amounts of alcohol in utero, scientists have found that prenatal exposure to alcohol - even in small doses - has pronounced effects on the development and function later in life of the brain's dopamine system, a critical component of the central nervous system that regulates many regions of the brain.

21 Sep 2005

Link between CAPON gene and schizophrenia

We have known for a long time that there is a genetic component to schizophrenia, but nailing down the gene(s) has not been easy.

20 Sep 2005

A quirky or socially awkward approach to life might be the key to becoming a great artist, composer or inventor

New research in individuals with schizotypal personalities - people characterized by odd behavior and language but who are not psychotic or schizophrenic - offers the first neurological evidence that these individuals are more creative than normal or fully schizophrenic people, and rely more heavily on the right sides of their brains than the general population to access their creativity.

7 Sep 2005

People with serious mental illness have higher rates of type 2 diabetes

...yet their knowledge of diabetes was generally poor and significantly lower than people without mental illness, according to a new study.

1 Sep 2005

Therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs are resurfacing

It was the drug of choice on university campuses, the drug that spawned psychedelic culture as well as countless jail sentences and fines, but LSD actually has respectable roots--roots that a McMaster University researcher is uncovering.

31 Aug 2005