Science News about Schizophrenia

New Study to Evaluate Ways to Control Metabolic Side Effects of Antipsychotics

Science Update • October 01, 2008

A new NIMH-funded grant will examine ways to control the metabolic side effects associated with the use of the newer atypical antipsychotic medications in children with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Why “My Get Up and Go Has Got Up and Went”

Science Update • September 15, 2008

If, as the song laments, our "get up and go" fades as we get older, it may stem from aging-related changes in a brain reward circuit.

Gene Variants Force Mental Trade-offs: Efficiency vs. Resiliency

Science Update • September 15, 2008

Mice genetically engineered to have an over active version of a human gene, like their human counterparts, gain in emotional mettle under stress, but at a cost of less efficient thinking, NIMH scientists have discovered.

Newer Antipsychotics No Better Than Older Drug in Treating Child and Adolescent Schizophrenia

Press Release • September 15, 2008

Two newer atypical antipsychotic medications were no more effective than an older conventional antipsychotic in treating child and adolescent schizophrenia and may lead to more metabolic side effects, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Childhood Bedwetting Occurred Twice as Often in Adults with Schizophrenia

Science Update • August 29, 2008

Childhood bedwetting occurred twice as often in adults with schizophrenia than in their unaffected brothers and sisters, according to a new study from researchers at NIMH.

Increased Burden of Rare Genetic Variations Found in Schizophrenia

Press Release • July 30, 2008

People with schizophrenia bear an "increased burden" of rare deletions and duplications of genetic material, genome-wide, say researchers supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Health Risks Associated with Certain Antipsychotics Warrant Extra Monitoring

Science Update • July 24, 2008

Some atypical antipsychotics may be more likely than others to cause metabolic and cardiovascular side effects, according to recent analyses using data from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).

Newer Antipsychotics No Better Than Older Medications in Reducing Schizophrenia-related Violence

Science Update • July 11, 2008

Antipsychotic medications can reduce the risk of violence among people with schizophrenia, but the newer atypical antipsychotics are no more effective in doing so than older medications, according to a recent analysis of data from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).

Abnormal Surge in Brain Development Occurs in Teens and Young Adults with Schizophrenia

Science Update • July 08, 2008

Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because brain development goes awry during adolescence and young adulthood, when the brain is eliminating some connections between cells as a normal part of maturation, results of a study suggest. The new report appears online July 8, 2008 in Molecular Psychiatry.

NIMH Schizophrenia Initiative Featured in Biological Psychiatry

Science Update • July 03, 2008

An NIMH initiative to fill the gap between advances in basic cognitive neuroscience and practical clinical applications for patients with schizophrenia is the topic of the July 1, 2008 issue of Biological Psychiatry.

Mice Expressing Human Genes Bred to Help Unravel Mental Disorders

Science Update • June 26, 2008

New mouse strains engineered to express human genes related to mental disorders are being developed under a recently-launched grant program from NIMH’s Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science.

Study launched to test possible preventive treatment for schizophrenia in high risk youth

Science Update • May 01, 2008

NIMH has recently awarded a grant to study whether an intensive computerized training program can help prevent those at high risk of developing schizophrenia from having a first psychotic episode and improve adaptive functioning. The program is based on principles of brain development and resilience and an understanding of the processes that go awry in schizophrenia.

Rates of Rare Mutations Soar Three to Four Times Higher in Schizophrenia

Press Release • March 27, 2008

People with schizophrenia have high rates of rare genetic deletions and duplications that likely disrupt the developing brain, according to studies funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.

Scans Reveal Faulty Brain Wiring Caused by Missing Genes

Science Update • February 20, 2008

An NIMH study using an emerging imaging technology has discovered faulty wiring in the brains of people with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects some aspects of thinking.

Tomorrow’s Antidepressants: Skip the Serotonin Boost?

Science Update • February 14, 2008

New research adds to evidence of potentially better molecular targets in the brain to treat depression and other mental disorders, according to NIMH-funded scientists.

Scientists Can Predict Psychotic Illness in up to 80 Percent of High-Risk Youth

Press Release • January 07, 2008

Youth who are going to develop psychosis can be identified before their illness becomes full-blown 35 percent of the time if they meet widely accepted criteria for risk, but that figure rises to 65 to 80 percent if they have certain combinations of risk factors, the largest study of its kind has shown. Knowing what these combinations are can help scientists predict who is likely to develop the illnesses within two to three years with the same accuracy that other kinds of risk factors can predict major medical diseases, such as diabetes.

Real-World Outcomes in Schizophrenia Are Focus of Two New NIMH Grants

Science Update • January 04, 2008

Two new NIMH grants are aimed at determining the most accurate methods of measuring how well community-dwelling people with schizophrenia are faring. Results of the project are meant to provide scientists who conduct future research on the effectiveness of treatments with tools that will reflect the truest possible picture of daily-life outcomes.

Ethnicity Predicts How Gene Variations Affect Response to Schizophrenia Medications

Science Update • January 02, 2008

Different variations in the same gene influence how well different ethnic groups, and people within the same ethnic group, respond to various antipsychotic medications, report NIMH-funded researchers. If confirmed, their findings could one day help clinicians predict which medication is most likely to help a patient, based on his or her genetic makeup.

Schizophrenia-Related Gene Linked to Imbalance in Dopamine Pathways

Science Update • December 17, 2007

Forms of a gene known to increase risk for schizophrenia may create an imbalance in brain pathways for dopamine, suggests a recent study by NIMH scientists.

How Schizophrenia Develops: Major Clues Discovered

Press Release • October 17, 2007

Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because of a problem in an intermittent on/off switch for a gene involved in making a key chemical messenger in the brain, scientists have found in a study of human brain tissue.

Suspect Schizophrenia Genes Act Together to Thwart Working Memory

Science Update • August 28, 2007

Two gene variants implicated in schizophrenia interact to degrade the brain's ability to process information, NIMH researchers have discovered.

Violence in Schizophrenia Patients More Likely Among Those with Childhood Conduct Problems

Press Release • July 02, 2007

Some people with schizophrenia who become violent may do so for reasons unrelated to their current illness, according to a new study analyzing data from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).

Antipsychotic Medications for Schizophrenia on Equal Footing in Improving Patients’ Thinking Skills

Science Update • June 04, 2007

Patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotic medications experience a small improvement in thinking and reasoning skills (neurocognition), but no one medication appears to be better than the others in improving these skills during the first two crucial months of treatment, according to the latest results from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE).

New Details in Schizophrenia Treatment Trial Emerge

Press Release • March 01, 2007

Two new studies from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials for Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) provide more insights into comparing treatment options, and to what extent antipsychotic medications help people with schizophrenia learn social, interpersonal and community living skills.

Common Gene Version Optimizes Thinking — but With a Possible Downside

Press Release • February 09, 2007

Most people inherit a version of a gene that optimizes their brain’s thinking circuitry, yet also appears to increase risk for schizophrenia, a severe mental illness marked by impaired thinking, scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have discovered.

Gene Variant Linked to Schizophrenia

Science Update • January 23, 2007

A gene implicated in schizophrenia in adults has now also been linked to schizophrenia in children for the first time, strengthening evidence that the gene plays a role in the disease.

Older Medication May Be More Cost-Effective for Some Patients with Schizophrenia

Press Release • December 01, 2006

A new study analyzing the economic implications of the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) concludes that the older (first generation) antipsychotic medication perphenazine was less expensive and no less effective than the newer (second generation) medications used in the trial during initial treatment, suggesting that older antipsychotics still have a role in treating schizophrenia.

New Schizophrenia Trial: Does Method of Administering Medication Make a Difference?

Science Update • September 05, 2006

A new clinical trial is testing whether an injection of a long-lasting antipsychotic medication every two weeks results in better adherence to treatment and better outcomes among people with schizophrenia than do oral medications taken daily.

New Factors Identified for Predicting Violence in Schizophrenia

Science Update • July 18, 2006

A study of adults with schizophrenia showed that symptoms of losing contact with reality, such as delusions and hallucinations, increased the odds of serious violence nearly threefold.

Studies ID Molecular Accomplices of Suspect Schizophrenia Genes

Science Update • May 02, 2006

NIMH-funded researchers have discovered how certain genes work at the molecular level to increase the risk of schizophrenia.