Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Gene variant predicts lymphoma treatment response

German researchers have identified a gene variant that significantly influences the outcome of methotrexate therapy for primary central nervous system lymphoma.

31 Oct 2012

Genetic counseling benefits relatives of schizophrenia patients

Genetic counseling is generally welcomed by the family members of patients with schizophrenia and can provide lasting benefits, say researchers.

31 Oct 2012

‘Off the shelf’ stem cells show promise for perianal fistula

Expanded allogenic adipose-derived stem cells are effective for the treatment of perianal fistula in patients with Crohn’s disease, suggest the results of a phase I/II trial.

31 Oct 2012

Empathetic and analytic thinking mutually exclusive in the brain

New research shows a simple reason why even the most intelligent, complex brains can be taken by a swindler's story - one that upon a second look offers clues it was false.

31 Oct 2012

FDA accepts Sunovion’s two LATUDA sNDAs for review

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review two supplemental New Drug Applications (sNDAs) for the use of LATUDA as 1) monotherapy and 2) adjunctive therapy to lithium or valproate, both to treat adult patients with depressive episodes associated with bipolar I disorder (bipolar depression).

31 Oct 2012

Dermatoglyphic abnormalities evident in schizophrenia patients

Patients with schizophrenia have specific dermatoglyphic abnormalities, which support the role of neurodevelopmental disruption in development of the disorder, say US researchers.

30 Oct 2012

Carotid ultrasound improves risk management in rheumatoid arthritis

A trial of radiofrequency ultrasound in patients with rheumatoid arthritis has shown that carotid intima-media thickness is significantly greater in patients treated only with synthetic therapeutics compared with those who are also taking biologics.

29 Oct 2012

Autoantibody aids identification of hyperexcitability disorders

Researchers have found that testing for a glycine receptor autoantibody aids the identification of a broad spectrum of autoimmune brainstem/spinal cord hyperexcitability disorders.

29 Oct 2012

Eye movement tests to diagnose schizophrenia

There is a long history of research on impaired eye movements associated with schizophrenia. Using a series of simple viewing tests, researchers of a new paper in Biological Psychiatry explored the ability of these eye movement tests to distinguish people with and without the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

29 Oct 2012

Homocysteine not linked to cognition in FEP

Patients experiencing a first episode of psychosis have significantly higher homocysteine levels than mentally healthy individuals, researchers report.

26 Oct 2012

Highlights from 25th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress

In the course of the 25th ECNP Congress leading experts and five and a half thousand psychiatrists, neurologists, neuroscience researchers and public health professionals from over 90 different countries met from 13 to 17 October 2012 in Vienna, Austria, to celebrate ECNP´s 25-year anniversary and engage in groundbreaking debate.

26 Oct 2012

HCFC1 protein may cause intellectual disability

Genetics researchers at the University of Adelaide have solved a 40-year mystery for a family beset by a rare intellectual disability - and they've discovered something new about the causes of intellectual disability in the process.

26 Oct 2012

Social disadvantage may increase risk for psychosis

Results from a UK study suggest that social disadvantage is associated with an increased risk for developing psychosis.

25 Oct 2012

Axis I disorder risk increased in youth with parental history of BD

Children with a parental history of bipolar disorder are at increased for DSM-IV axis I disorders, research shows.

25 Oct 2012

BioLineRx intends to conduct interim analysis of BL-1020 Phase II/III trial for schizophrenia

BioLineRx, a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today that it intends to conduct an interim analysis of the Phase II/III CLARITY trial of BL-1020, a first in class, orally available, GABA-enhanced antipsychotic for the treatment of schizophrenia.

25 Oct 2012

Neurofeedback enhances a brain network responsible for cognitive-control

A breakthrough study conducted in Canada has found that training of the well-known brainwave in humans, the alpha rhythm, enhances a brain network responsible for cognitive-control.

25 Oct 2012

Anterior insular cortex associated with human empathy

An international team led by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York has for the first time shown that one area of the brain, called the anterior insular cortex, is the activity center of human empathy, whereas other areas of the brain are not. The study is published in the September 2012 issue of the journal Brain.

25 Oct 2012

Roundup: States raise employee insurance contributions to save money; Minn. seeking $80M more for exchange; Selling insurance in malls

Financially strapped state and local governments are saving billions of dollars on health insurance by cutting back on free coverage for employees and raising worker contributions, a USA Today analysis finds. Government workers still enjoy more generous health benefits than privately employed workers but the advantage has narrowed from $1,523 in 2007 to $891 in 2012, adjusted for inflation, federal data show.

25 Oct 2012

Exendin-4 could effectively treat addiction

Vanderbilt researchers are reporting today that a drug currently used to treat type 2 diabetes could be just as effective in treating addiction to drugs, including cocaine.

24 Oct 2012

Link between autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a category that includes autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, are characterized by difficulty with social interaction and communication, or repetitive behaviors. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Management says that one in 88 children in the US is somewhere on the Autism spectrum - an alarming ten-fold increase in the last four decades.

24 Oct 2012