Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Farm animals could provide some therapeutic benefit for people with mental illness

Time down on the farm with animals could provide some therapeutic benefit for people with mental illness, according to researchers writing in the open access journal Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health.

11 Apr 2008

Expert warns of anti-psychotic drugs use in children

Research from Britain is suggesting that an increasing number of children are being prescribed anti-psychotic drugs to treat a range of conditions which are not licensed for use in children.

9 Apr 2008

Treatment with an anti-psychotic drug found to cause changes in metabolism earlier than expected

Schizophrenia is a complex type of psychotic mental illness characterized by thoughts that are uncoupled from reality.

8 Apr 2008

Rare genetic variants have big impact on blood pressure

Yale University researchers report in the journal Nature Genetics that they have discovered that rare genetic variants can be associated with a dramatically lower risk of developing high blood pressure in the general population.

7 Apr 2008

Aripiprazole has potential for treating alcohol dependence

Aripiprazole is currently approved to treat bipolar disorder as well as schizophrenia. A new study has found that it significantly and dose-dependently increases the sedative effects of alcohol and, to a lesser degree, decreases the euphoric effects of alcohol. Future research will need to examine the beneficial versus the side effects of aripiprazole for treatment of alcohol dependence.

4 Apr 2008

Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography to help determine whether cognitive impairment will lead to Alzheimer's

With nearly 10 million baby boomers at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, researchers are taking a closer look at a condition known as mild cognitive impairment.

3 Apr 2008

Restrictive drug policies often cause schizophrenic patients to discontinue medication

Policies requiring authorization before physicians can prescribe newer medications to schizophrenic patients may be counter-productive.

2 Apr 2008

Gold coast murder case questions how the mentally ill are cared for in the community

The case of a 36-year-old mentally ill man who allegedly murdered an elderly woman in a retirement village has prompted questions regarding appropriate accommodation for the mentally ill in the community.

1 Apr 2008

Discovery of role of rare gene mutations in schizophrenia

Using an important new method that can be applied in the study of other psychiatric illnesses, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Washington (UW) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), have identified multiple, individually rare gene mutations in people with schizophrenia that may help explain how that devastating illness is caused.

31 Mar 2008

Brain scientist shedding light on learning, memory

Neurons spoke to Dr. Joe Z. Tsien when he was a sophomore college student searching for some meaningful extracurricular activity.

28 Mar 2008

Different use of brain areas may explain memory problems in schizophrenics

The enduring memory problems that people with schizophrenia experience may be related to differences in how their brains process information, new research has found.

13 Mar 2008

Scientists discover epigenetic changes in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Scientists have discovered epigenetic changes (i.e. chemical changes to a gene that do not alter the DNA sequence) in individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

12 Mar 2008

New malaria drug also treats toxoplasmosis

A new drug that will soon enter clinical trials for treatment of malaria also appears to be 10 times more effective than the key medicine in the current gold-standard treatment for toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by a related parasite that infects nearly one-third of all humans—more than two billion people worldwide.

6 Mar 2008

Brain differences between women and men

What was once speculation is now being confirmed by scientists: the brains of women and men are different in more ways than one.

1 Mar 2008

AstraZeneca submits sNDA for SEROQUEL XR for treatment of major depressive disorder

AstraZeneca has announced the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for once- daily SEROQUEL XR (quetiapine fumarate) Extended-Release Tablets to seek approval for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) as monotherapy, adjunct therapy, and maintenance therapy in adult patients.

1 Mar 2008