JOHNS HOPKINS MEDICINE In a series of recently published studies using animals and people, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have further characterized a set of chemical imbalances in the brains of people with schizophrenia related to the chemical glutamate. And they figured out how to tweak the level using a compound derived from broccoli sprouts. They say the results advance...
Tag: <span>Schizophrenia</span>
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Inflammation linked to chemical imbalance in schizophrenia
by Macquarie University A study published in Molecular Psychiatry has identified changes in inflammation-related biochemical pathways in schizophrenia that interfere with proper brain nerve cell communication. Researchers have found the first direct evidence in support of increased kynurenic acid production in the brain, which is known to block a key glutamate receptor. This discovery paves the way for development of better...
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Teen’s Sudden Schizophrenia Turns Out To Be A Bad Case Of Cat Scratch Disease
Puzzled doctors can’t fathom the cause of a teen’s sudden-onset schizophrenia. Numerous tests and assessments later, it turns out that it is a bad case of infection due to cat scratch. Researchers from North Carolina State University investigate on the case of a schizophrenic teen, diagnosed with Bartonella henselae infection. The discovery is said to add to...
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Advanced paternal age increases risk of early-onset schizophrenia in offspring
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and other brain imaging technologies allow for the study of differences in brain activity in people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The image shows two levels of the brain, with areas that were more active in healthy controls than in schizophrenia patients shown in orange, during an fMRI study of working memory....
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Case study: Bartonella and sudden-onset adolescent schizophrenia
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY In a new case study, researchers at North Carolina State University describe an adolescent human patient diagnosed with rapid onset schizophrenia who was found instead to have a Bartonella henselae infection. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that Bartonellainfection can mimic a host of chronic illnesses, including mental illness, and could open up new avenues of research into bacterial or...
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African-Americans more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, Rutgers study finds
African-Americans with severe depression are more likely to be misdiagnosed as having schizophrenia, according to a new Rutgers study. The study, which appeared online prior to being published in the February 2019 issue of the journal Psychiatric Services, examined the medical records of 1,657 people at a community behavioral health clinic that included screening for major depression...
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BIDMC researchers ID, treat faulty brain circuitry underlying symptoms of schizophrenia
BOSTON – Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness that affects more than three million Americans. Anti-psychotic medication can control schizophrenia’s psychotic symptoms, including the hallucinations and delusions that are well-known hallmarks of the disease. However, there are no effective treatments for the disease’s ‘negative symptoms’ – so-called because they involve a loss of...
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A New Treatment for Menopause May Be on the Way
Researchers say a new type of drug that blocks a receptor in the brain could provide relief for women going through menopause. There’s good news for women going through menopause if you can wait three years or so. Credit: Getty Images Researchers say they’ve discovered that an experimental class of drugs that blocks a key...
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Breakthrough in schizophrenia identifies importance of immune cells
Researchers from NeuRA and UNSW have made a major discovery in schizophrenia research that could open doors to new treatments, research, and therapies. In one of the biggest breakthroughs in schizophrenia research in recent times, Professor Cynthia Shannon Weickert from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW Sydney have identified immune cells in greater amounts in the brains of some...
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Using DNA to predict schizophrenia and autism
Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis, and muscular dystrophy are all diseases that can be traced to a single mutation. Diagnosis in asymptomatic patients for these diseases is relatively easy—you have the mutation? Then you are at risk. Complex diseases, on the other hand, do not have a clear mutational footprint. A new multi-institutional study by Japanese...