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Last Updated: Nov 18, 2006 - 12:32:53 PM |
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
Second-generation antipsychotic medications appear to offer little advantage
Among patients with schizophrenia whose medication is changed because of ineffectiveness or harmful side effects, second-generation antipsychotic drugs do not appear to offer significant benefits compared to first-generation antipsychotic drugs, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The findings run contrary to the widely held perception that second-generation antipsychotic agents are safer and more effective in treating patients with schizophrenia than the less-expensive first-generation class of medications.
Oct 10, 2006 - 12:14:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Study aims to identify schizophrenics at risk for type 2 diabetes
Dissecting the relationship between schizophrenia and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes has physician-scientists reaching across the Atlantic Ocean.
Aug 22, 2006 - 8:16:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
New Treatment Model for Bipolar Disorder Shows Promise
A new care model for bipolar disorder tested in veterans across the nation reduced their manic episodes and improved their quality of life, according to research led by a psychiatrist with the Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Brown Medical School.
Aug 11, 2006 - 8:09:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Effects of ketamine mimic only some of the symptoms of schizophrenia
Ketamine can induce symptoms of referential thinking, but not other symptoms of schizophrenia, according to a new study. Ketamine is the structural analogue of the drug phencyclidine, now considered too toxic for experimental use in humans. In healthy volunteers, phencyclidine has been reported to induce paranoia, perceptual changes and other symptoms, including disorganisation of thought, negativism, apathy, withdrawal, poverty of speech and catatonia.
Aug 9, 2006 - 12:37:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Association between famine and schizophrenia may yield clues about genetic basis
The higher risk of schizophrenia among offspring of expectant mothers living through famine could help us understand the genetic basis for that debilitating mental disorder, a group of researchers argue in a commentary piece in the Aug. 2 issue of JAMA. The finding also supports a theory of medical genetics in which diseases and conditions can be caused by hundreds of different genetic mutations in any number of human genes.
Aug 2, 2006 - 11:33:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Neuropeptide S (NPS) may help in treating schizophrenia
A small protein in the brain that has only recently been discovered and, paradoxically, induces both profound wakefulness and a less anxious state, may represent a novel target for the treatment of psychotic behavior and schizophrenia, according to new research presented at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (ICN 2006) recently.
Jul 10, 2006 - 6:18:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
Clozapine causes significantly higher rates of metabolic syndrome
Patients who take clozapine, the most effective antipsychotic drug, have significantly higher rates of metabolic syndrome, according to a first-of-a-kind study by University of Rochester Medical Center researchers. Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that increase the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The conditions include high blood pressure, excess body fat around the waist, abnormal levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and insulin resistance. Any one of the conditions increases the risk of serious disease. In combination, the risk grows greater.
Jul 1, 2006 - 4:37:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Neuropeptide S (NPS) may help in treating schizophrenia
A small protein in the brain that has only recently been discovered and, paradoxically, induces both profound wakefulness and a less anxious state, may represent a novel target for the treatment of psychotic behavior and schizophrenia, according to new research presented at the 6th International Congress of Neuroendocrinology (ICN 2006). ICN 2006 is being held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh June 19 � 22.
Jun 22, 2006 - 11:41:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
NMDA receptor hypofunction demonstrated in schizophrenia
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in collaboration with scientists at the City University of New York, have identified a striking dysregulation in neuronal receptor activity in the postmortem brain tissue from patients with schizophrenia. By stimulating receptors in the prefrontal cortex, the research team tracked heightened levels of erbB4 receptor activity, as well as decreased NMDA receptor activity in the tissue from patients with schizophrenia. Additionally, they were able to identify a relationship between these two receptor groups, suggesting a mechanism for decreased NMDA receptor function that has long been suspected in schizophrenia.
Jun 19, 2006 - 1:26:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Altered NRG1-erbB4 signaling may contribute to NMDA receptor hypofunction in schizophrenia
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, in collaboration with scientists at the City University of New York, have identified a striking dysregulation in neuronal receptor activity in the postmortem brain tissue from patients with schizophrenia. By stimulating receptors in the prefrontal cortex, the research team tracked heightened levels of erbB4 receptor activity, as well as decreased NMDA receptor activity in the tissue from patients with schizophrenia. Additionally, they were able to identify a relationship between these two receptor groups, suggesting a mechanism for decreased NMDA receptor function that has long been suspected in schizophrenia.
Jun 16, 2006 - 11:59:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Transcription factor Elk-1's role in neurodegeneration and schizophrenia
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that a protein called Elk-1 interacts with mitochondria, the energy storehouse of a cell, suggesting that this protein -� typically active in the nucleus -- could play a role in cell death and mitochondria-related diseases such as neurodegeneration and schizophrenia.
Jun 8, 2006 - 6:10:00 AM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
Youth with bipolar disorder misread facial expressions as hostile
Youth with bipolar disorder misread facial expressions as hostile and show heightened neural reactions when they focus on emotional aspects of neutral faces, researchers at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered. The study provides some of the first clues to the underlying workings of the episodes of mania and depression that disrupt friendships, school, and family life in up to one percent of children.
May 30, 2006 - 11:23:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia limits one's ability to perceive body language
Understanding the meaning behind a person's posture or body movement comes easily to many people and helps guide how we react to others socially.
May 19, 2006 - 7:50:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Hospitalized schizophrenics are at a higher risk for developing medical/surgical 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. The adverse events are associated with poor outcomes, including death.
The researchers concluded that decreased quality of care given to patients with schizophrenia may put them at higher risk for serious infections and other complications.
Mar 19, 2006 - 2:30:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Transcranial magnetic stimulation to curtail auditory hallucinations in 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.
Mar 12, 2006 - 3:53:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
Brain Changes Indicating Bipolar Disorder Are Not Prominent Until Adulthood
Changes in the brain that are important indicators of bipolar disorder are not prominent until young adulthood and are reduced in persons taking mood-stabilizing medications, Yale School of Medicine researchers report this month in Biological Psychiatry.
Jan 31, 2006 - 7:16:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
Early Intervention Services in Psychosis Can Achieve Better Outcomes - Study
A new study has found that specialised care for early psychosis can achieve better outcomes than standard care.
Jan 23, 2006 - 5:14:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
Manic-depressive illness and the FAT gene
A collaboration, led by Sydney scientists at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and University of New South Wales, has discovered the first risk gene specifically for bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness. This means that people who have a particular form of this gene are twice as likely to develop the disease.
Jan 13, 2006 - 8:26:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
One in five teens needing inpatient psychiatric care may be manic-depressive
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.
Dec 28, 2005 - 6:31:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
Psychosocial Disability Fluctuates Along with Bipolar Symptoms
With every increase or decrease in depressive symptom severity, there is a corresponding significant and stepwise increase or decrease in psychosocial disability among patients with bipolar disorder, according to a study in the December issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Bipolar disorder is characterized by cycles of depression and abnormal elation, or mania. It has been found to be associated with increased suicidal behavior, increased health care use and costs, higher unemployment, higher dependence on public assistance, lower annual income, increased work absenteeism owing to illness, decreased work productivity, poorer overall functioning, lower quality of life, and decreased life span, according to background information in the article. Bipolar I disorder (BP-I), which includes episodes of mania, and bipolar II disorder (BP-II), which includes less severe episodes of abnormal mood elevation called hypomania, are dimensional illnesses in which patients experience fluctuating levels of severity of manic and depressive symptoms, interspersed with symptom-free periods.
Dec 8, 2005 - 3:24:00 PM
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Loss of PRODH and COMT gene activity 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. The investigators developed a model of schizophrenia that provides a way to study and understand how the loss of both PRODH and COMT gene activity contributes to the symptoms of schizophrenia. The insights they gained into the disease with this model are important because the loss of the PRODH gene causes the imbalance in the levels of both glutamate and dopamine; and this imbalance contributes directly to the symptoms of schizophrenia, according to Stanislav Zakharenko, MD, PhD, an assistant member of the Department of Developmental Neurobiology at St. Jude.
Dec 2, 2005 - 7:04:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Oct-6 protein 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.
Oct 24, 2005 - 2:04:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
BOLDER II (BipOLar DEpRession) study - Quetiapine effective in bipolar depression
Newly released top-line results from the BOLDER II (BipOLar DEpRession) study have underlined the potential for SEROQUEL (quetiapine fumarate) in the treatment of patients with major depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder. In BOLDER II, SEROQUEL 300mg and 600mg doses achieved a statistically significant reduction in levels of bipolar depression compared with placebo (p less than 0.001), as measured by the change from baseline in MADRS* total score.1
Oct 24, 2005 - 1:57:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
CATIE study to guide schizophrenia treatment
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. Overall, the medications were comparably effective but were associated with high rates of discontinuation due to intolerable side effects or failure to adequately control symptoms. Surprisingly, the older, less expensive medication used in the study generally performed as well as the newer medications. The study, which included more than 1,400 people, supplies important new information that will help doctors and patients choose the most appropriate medication according to the patients' individual needs.
Sep 20, 2005 - 9:47:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
CAPON and Schizophrenia�Does Size Matter?
Schizophrenia and bipolar disease are complex diseases, with multiple genes and environmental factors thought to be responsible for their manifestation. Many reports have implicated changes in certain regions of the human genome in schizophrenia. An area on Chromosome 1 has been associated with the disease in different studies and populations. Linda Brzustowicz and colleagues had previously described association of several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within a gene called CAPON (for carboxyl-terminal PDZ ligand of neuronal nitric oxide synthase) with schizophrenia in a set of Canadian families. A separate study in a Chinese population found an association between schizophrenia and a separate group of SNPs within CAPON. CAPON is an attractive candidate for a �schizophrenia gene�: CAPON was first identified as a protein binding to neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), and indirect evidence suggests that it might be linked to the regulation of glutamate neurotransmission. However, so far, no coding sequence mutations in CAPON have been found in patients with schizophrenia.
Sep 13, 2005 - 4:04:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Dopamine and glutamate hypothesis reconciled
Yale School of Medicine researchers published a report this month in the Archives of General Psychiatry that highlights the interplay of two brain signaling systems, glutamate and dopamine, in psychosis and cognitive function.
Sep 13, 2005 - 4:28:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
'Schizophrenia' may not exist
Schizophrenia has been attributed to everything from genetic predisposition, brain chemistry, sufferers' home environment and even cat-borne viruses, but no consistent causal pattern has ever been identified. As a result, treatment outcomes for today's patients are not very different from those of patients treated 100 years ago.
Sep 10, 2005 - 3:16:00 PM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Odd behavior and creativity may go hand-in-hand
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.
Sep 7, 2005 - 8:13:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Bipolar Disorder
Call for accurate screening of bipolar disorder
The British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) has published an editorial paper highlighting the vital role GPs play in distinguishing between unipolar and bipolar disorder and treating it accordingly.
Sep 2, 2005 - 2:09:00 AM
Latest Research
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Psychiatry
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Psychoses
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Schizophrenia
Hope of early diagnostic tool for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Key research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) could lead to the first early diagnostic tool for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Aug 4, 2005 - 11:50:00 PM
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