Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Researchers identify DNA methylation in patients with schizophrenia

In a new study, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have identified epigenetic changes - known as DNA methylation - in the blood of patients with schizophrenia.

28 Mar 2012

Defects in schizophrenia-risk genes and environmental stress lead to abnormal brain development

Working with genetically engineered mice and the genomes of thousands of people with schizophrenia, researchers at Johns Hopkins say they now better understand how both nature and nurture can affect one's risks for schizophrenia and abnormal brain development in general.

27 Mar 2012

Scripps scientists generate synthetic memory trace

Scripps Research Institute scientists and their colleagues have successfully harnessed neurons in mouse brains, allowing them to at least partially control a specific memory. Though just an initial step, the researchers hope such work will eventually lead to better understanding of how memories form in the brain, and possibly even to ways to weaken harmful thoughts for those with conditions such as schizophrenia and post traumatic stress disorder.

23 Mar 2012

Allen Institute for Brain Science receives $300M gift to expand scientific programs

The Allen Institute for Brain Science announced today that, given its achievements to date, Paul G. Allen has committed an additional $300 million to the Institute to significantly expand its scientific programs.

22 Mar 2012

Heptares exercises exclusive option to license new A2A antagonist for CNS disorders

Heptares Therapeutics, the leading GPCR drug discovery company, announces that an operating company of Shire PLC, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, has exercised its exclusive option to license a novel adenosine A2A antagonist discovered by Heptares that is currently in preclinical development.

20 Mar 2012

iPSYCH project to study five specific mental disorders

Is it possible to prevent the development of schizophrenia? Can certain patients develop autism if they carry a specific gene and have been exposed to a viral fetal infection? Should all ADHD patients take the same type of medication? This unique research project will try to answer these questions. The project is based at Aarhus University and will be known as 'The Lundbeck Foundation's Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research.'

20 Mar 2012

XTL Biopharmaceuticals completes $2.4 million private placement of securities

XTL Biopharmaceuticals announced yesterday, March 18, 2012, it successfully completed a private placement of securities with foreign as well as Israeli institutional and private investors for a total of $2.4 million (NIS 9.1 million).

19 Mar 2012

Smartphone technology can help assess and treat schizophrenia

Psychiatry is employing smartphone technology as an innovative tool in the assessment and treatment of schizophrenia and other serious mental illness. Prominent in this endeavor is Dror Ben-Zeev, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School and director of the Thresholds-Dartmouth Research Center in Chicago.

16 Mar 2012

Scientists use novel system to discover sequential firing of neurons

Princeton University researchers have used a novel virtual reality and brain imaging system to detect a form of neural activity underlying how the brain forms short-term memories that are used in making decisions.

15 Mar 2012

Developmental differences in brain network function found in children of parents with schizophrenia

A team of neuroscientists led by a Wayne State University School of Medicine professor has discovered stark developmental differences in brain network function in children of parents with schizophrenia when compared to those with no family history of mental illness.

14 Mar 2012

Uncovering the science behind generations of mental illness

Sometimes the most interesting way to digest scientific information is within the context of personal experiences. Likewise, the story of someone's personal journey or struggle can take on broader significance when melded with the insights of scientific knowledge.

14 Mar 2012

Recent studies aim to find better treatment for children with speech problems

Recent studies by a UT Dallas researcher aim at finding better ways to diagnose young children with language impairments.

13 Mar 2012

Reviva to initiate enrollment in RP503 phase 2 study for schizophrenia

Reviva Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held drug discovery and development company, today announced enrollment of patients in its phase 2 clinical study of RP503 for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

13 Mar 2012

Allon advances into second phase of work in preclinical PD model

Allon Therapeutics Inc. announced today the completion of its first phase of work in a preclinical Parkinson's disease model and advancement into the second phase of work. Both phases are funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and carried out by Prof. Marie-Francoise Chesselet's lab at the University of California Los Angeles.

12 Mar 2012

FDA denies AstraZeneca Citizen Petitions on SEROQUEL labeling

AstraZeneca today announced that on March 7, 2012, the Food and Drug Administration denied Citizen Petitions requesting that the FDA withhold finally approving any generic quetiapine product with labeling that omits certain hyperglycemia warning language that the FDA required AstraZeneca to include in the labeling for SEROQUEL (quetiapine fumarate) tablets and SEROQUEL XR (quetiapine fumarate) extended-release tablets.

12 Mar 2012

LSD for alcohol addiction: Study

Hallucinogenic drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) could help alcoholics give up drinking, according to an analysis of studies performed in the 1960s. A study, presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, looked at data from six trials and more than 500 patients. It said there was a “significant beneficial effect” on alcohol abuse, which lasted several months after the drug was taken.

12 Mar 2012

CB2 receptor involved in regulating impulsive behaviour

A new study lead by the Neuroscience Institute of Alicante reveals how manipulating the endocannabinoid system can modulate high levels of impulsivity. This is the main problem in psychiatric illnesses such a schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and substance abuse.

8 Mar 2012

Loss of glutamate receptor linked to negative effects of chronic stress

Chronic stress has a more powerful effect on the brain during adolescence than in adulthood and now there's proof at the molecular level, according to findings published in Neuron by University at Buffalo researchers.

8 Mar 2012

Researchers document unknown biological mechanism in the blood-brain barrier

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have documented a previously unknown biological mechanism in the brain's most important line of defence: the blood-brain barrier. Scientists now know that the barrier helps maintain a delicate balance of glutamate, a vital signal compound in the brain.

8 Mar 2012

BioLineRx receives European patent for BL-1020 to treat schizophrenia

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today that a European patent has been granted claiming BL-1020's composition and its use for the treatment of schizophrenia.

8 Mar 2012