University of Geneva Jul 2 2024 Schizophrenia, which affects up to 1% of the population, is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple symptoms. One of the most common, and for which there is no treatment, is apathy and lack of motivation. By comparing neural activation between a group of patients and a control group during...
Tag: <span>Schizophrenia</span>
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Common Biological Basis Identified in Schizophrenia and Aging
Tightly synchronized genetic changes in two types of brain cells may underlie cognitive impairment in both conditions. Researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and McLean Hospital have uncovered a strikingly similar suite of changes in gene activity in brain tissue from people with schizophrenia and from older adults. These...
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Can brain stimulation benefit individuals with schizophrenia?
Peer-Reviewed Publication WILEY Most people with schizophrenia have extensive impairment of memory, including prospective memory, which is the ability to remember to perform future activities. Results from a randomized clinical trial published in Neuropsychopharmacology Reports indicate that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive method that uses alternating magnetic fields to induce an electric current...
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New treatment modality may reduce obesity in schizophrenia patients
by Elana Gotkine Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In individuals with schizophrenia, accelerated continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) seems promising for treating obesity, according to a study published online Oct. 31 in Schizophrenia Bulletin. Dongyu Kang, M.D., from The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China, and colleagues conducted a double-blind, randomized trial...
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Unexpected link found between 2 schizophrenia risk proteins
by Emily Caldwell, The Ohio State University Behavioral alterations in MAP6−/− and Kv3.1−/− mice. Adult (3–6 months old) WT B6 (black bars), MAP6−/− (red bars), and Kv3.1−/− (green bars) mice were used in a series of behavioral assays. Each group contained approximately half male and half female mice. a Example traces in the elevated plus maze...
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Study supports hypothesis that mitochondrial dysregulation is a contributor to the development of schizophrenia
by Rutgers University Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Researchers at Rutgers and Emory University are gaining insights into how schizophrenia develops by studying the strongest-known genetic risk factor. When a small portion of chromosome 3 is missing—known as 3q29 deletion syndrome—it increases the risk for schizophrenia by about 40-fold. Researchers have now analyzed overlapping patterns of altered gene activity...
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Atopic dermatitis associated with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder
by Yale School of Medicine Atopic dermatitis. Credit: AfroBrazilian/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, inflammatory skin disorder that has well-established associations with depression and anxiety. A new Yale School of Medicine study, published in Archives of Dermatological Research, finds AD is also associated with increased risk for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. Schizophrenia is...
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Schizophrenia is associated with somatic mutations occurring in utero, study shows
by Cell Press Schizophrenia-associated somatic copy number variants from 12,834 cases reveal recurrent NRXN1 and ABCB11 disruptions. Credit: Cell Genomics / Maury et al. As a psychiatric disorder with onset in adulthood, schizophrenia is thought to be triggered by some combination of environmental factors and genetics, although the exact cause is still not fully understood. In...
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Asking better questions: Psychology researchers changing the way we diagnose, treat schizophrenia
by David Mitchell, University of Georgia Clementz, McDowell and their teams have identified three new psychosis classifications using data captured from brain scans. Rather than grouping patients in the previous classifications of the DSM—schizophrenia, bipolar and schizoaffective disorder—they have established new groups called “biotypes.” Credit: Lindsay Bland Robinson Brett Clementz doesn’t love the term “schizophrenia.” Sure,...
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Survey of brain cell junctions shows striking similarities between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
by Leah Eisenstadt, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Protein changes at brain cell synapses from patients with schizophrenia were strikingly similar to those from patients with bipolar disorder. Credit: Sonja Vasiljeva/Broad Institute Although bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are diagnosed as distinct psychiatric conditions, both are considerably heritable with molecular roots that are poorly understood. Some...