Tag

Schizophrenia

All articles tagged with #schizophrenia

science4 days ago•51 min saved

Common Brain Network Disruptions Link Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

A study in Frontiers in Psychiatry compared resting-state fMRI from 89 people with schizophrenia, 57 with bipolar I disorder, and 45 healthy controls, finding reduced coordination among distant brain regions in both patient groups—more widespread changes in schizophrenia. This suggests overlapping patterns of brain-network disruption between the two conditions, though not a single wiring fault; results cannot diagnose individuals yet and highlight the need for larger, longitudinal research.

via Yahoo|

#bipolar-disorder #brain-imaging #mental-health

science5 days ago•5 min saved

Shared brain network disruptions link schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, study finds

Resting-state fMRI shows both schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder patients have reduced coordination between distant brain regions compared with healthy controls, with broader network changes in schizophrenia; the results hint at overlapping brain network disturbances but do not yet serve as a diagnostic test.

via ScienceAlert|

#bipolar-disorder #functional-connectivity #neuroimaging

health24 days ago•44 min saved

Quitting Smoking Linked to Fatal Clozapine Toxicity, Inquest Finds

A 29-year-old Worcester man with paranoid schizophrenia died from clozapine toxicity after stopping smoking; the inquest heard that cessation likely raised the medication’s levels in his blood. He was taking 525 mg nightly, and he should have informed his psychiatrist if he stopped smoking so the dose could be adjusted. The coroner urged clearer guidance for doctors on adjusting anti-psychotic dosages when patients quit smoking to prevent similar deaths.

via Yahoo|

#clozapine #coroner #health

business29 days ago•2 min saved

MapLight's Phase 2 split results trigger big stock drop as twice-daily dose shines

MapLight Therapeutics’ stock slid over 60% after Phase 2 results for its schizophrenia candidate ML-007C-MA showed a clear benefit for the twice-daily 210/3 mg dose on PANSS, while the once-daily 330/6 mg dose did not reach statistical significance; the company will pursue further analyses to decide next steps for the other dose. The treatment was generally well-tolerated, with exploratory signals of cognitive benefit, and the company highlighted potential upside in Alzheimer's psychosis and competitive positioning versus BMS’s Cobenfy.

via Fierce Biotech|

#business #maplight-therapeutics #ml-007c-ma

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Genetic Overlap Across Psychiatric Disorders Reshapes Mental Illness Diagnosis

Large-scale analyses of over 1 million people across 14 psychiatric conditions identify five shared genetic signatures that drive most risk, with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder sharing about 70% of their genetic signal. The findings suggest common biological pathways across disorders, challenging traditional separate diagnoses and hinting at unified treatments targeting pleiotropic genetic factors.

via ScienceAlert|

#bipolar-disorder #genetics #pleiotropy

family-and-relationships1 month ago•11 min saved

Shouldering the Sibling Burden: A Sister Faces Guardianship of a Schizophrenic Brother

A 30-year-old sister wrestles with the prospect of becoming her 34-year-old brother’s legal guardian after their father’s death. She loves him but doubts her ability to make life-changing decisions for him, aware that refusing could make him a ward of the state, while acknowledging his need for steady professional care.

via TwistedSifter|

#caregiving #family-and-relationships #family-drama

world2 months ago•23 min saved

Toronto Stabbing Case: Schizophrenic Woman Granted Absolute Discharge After Years of Treatment

Rohinie Bisesar, a Toronto woman with schizophrenia who fatally stabbed a newlywed in a downtown Shoppers Drug Mart in 2015 and was found not criminally responsible in 2018, was granted an absolute discharge by the Ontario Review Board on June 3, 2026, after years of treatment and community-based care; officials say she no longer poses a public-safety threat, but Junor’s family says they hope she stays compliant to keep others safe.

via New York Post|

#absolute-discharge #ontario-review-board #schizophrenia

life-and-drama2 months ago•10 min saved

Handling Delusional Calls: The Backup Trick That Saved a Support Team

A call-center worker recounts encountering bizarre delusions from customers—phones spying, stalking by corporations, and government radiation claims—and discusses how mental-health issues can shape such calls. The piece offers practical guidance for agents: don’t validate outlandish claims, stay professional, and refocus the conversation on real issues, noting a clever backup method that helped manage these interactions.

via TwistedSifter|

#call-center #customer-service #delusions

science2 months ago•6 min saved

Cat Exposure Linked to Higher Schizophrenia Risk, Review Finds

A 2023 meta-analysis of 17 studies across 11 countries finds an association between cat exposure and higher risk of schizophrenia-related disorders, with exposed individuals about twice as likely to develop schizophrenia; however, the evidence is observational, often inconsistent, and causality cannot be established, underscoring the need for higher-quality, large-scale research and further exploration of mechanisms like Toxoplasma gondii.

via ScienceAlert|

#cat-exposure #mental-health #meta-analysis

science3 months ago•9 min saved

Early-Development ZNF804A Linked to Hyper-Excitable Neurons in Schizophrenia

A precision functional genomics study shows the schizophrenia risk gene ZNF804A is most active in glutamatergic neurons during the second trimester. Using CRISPR-Cas9 to suppress ZNF804A in developing neurons increased local protein translation at dendritic tips, raised synapse density, and heightened electrical excitability, linking this genetic risk factor to a specific neurodevelopmental mechanism that may contribute to schizophrenia.

via Neuroscience News|

#crispr #neurodevelopment #schizophrenia

science3 months ago•12 min saved

Peripheral Neutrophils Forge C4A Link to Schizophrenia

Stanford researchers find neutrophils actively produce C4A, a key schizophrenia risk protein, and in patients these cells pump out more C4A while rapid activation (C4-ana) occurs in plasma. The work links a peripheral immune process to brain synaptic pruning linked to schizophrenia, suggesting blood-based diagnostics and therapies that target the periphery rather than the brain. Clozapine’s neutrophil-depleting effects highlight the need for safer, targeted treatments.

via Neuroscience News|

#c4a #complement-system #neutrophils

science3 months ago•10 min saved

Congenital blindness reveals surprising clues about schizophrenia

Across seven decades of observations and a major 2018 study, scientists have repeatedly found that people born blind due to cortical (brain) damage do not develop schizophrenia, unlike those who become blind later or whose blindness comes from eye disease. The protection seems tied to how the visual cortex is repurposed early in life, potentially stabilizing the brain’s predictive processing and reducing misfired predictions that underlie psychosis. Timing matters: loss of vision later in life doesn’t confer the same protection. These findings point to new directions for treatment that could target perception, learning, and brain circuits (including glutamate systems in the visual cortex) alongside traditional dopamine-focused approaches, though blindness is not a practical safeguard. This line of research deepens our understanding of brain development and the origins of schizophrenia.”

via The Conversation|

#blindness #brain-development #cortical-blindness

science4 months ago•4 min saved

Adolescent Brain Builds Dense Synaptic Hotspots, Challenging Pruning Theory

Kyushu University researchers using super-resolution mapping found that adolescence features a dense hotspot of synapses forming along the apical dendrite of Layer 5 neurons, not just widespread pruning; this selective synapse formation emerges between three and eight weeks in mice and depends on intact synapse-building processes, with mutations in schizophrenia-linked genes Setd1a, Hivep2, and Grin1 impairing hotspot formation. The findings, reported in Science Advances, suggest the pruning-centric view of adolescence is incomplete and future work will identify brain regions where these connections form and whether similar mechanisms occur in humans.

via SciTechDaily|

#adolescence #dendritic-spines #schizophrenia

science5 months ago•6 min saved

One-shot SEAD1 therapy reverses schizophrenia-like brain issues in mice

Northwestern researchers found reduced Cacna2d1 protein in schizophrenia; they created a synthetic replacement, SEAD1, and showed that a single injection in mice with a schizophrenia-like genetic duplication normalized brain circuit activity and behavior, with no observed side effects. Human trials are planned but not yet underway.

via Boing Boing|

#cacna2d1 #mice #neuroscience

science5 months ago•6 min saved

Mutant grin2a reveals thalamocortical circuit linked to cognitive deficits in schizophrenia

MIT researchers link a grin2a gene mutation to impaired updating of beliefs in mice via disruption of a mediodorsal thalamus–prefrontal cortex circuit, slowing adaptive decision-making; optogenetic activation of the circuit reversed the behavioral deficits, suggesting circuit-based targets for cognitive symptoms in schizophrenia.

via MIT News|

#grin2a #mediodorsal-thalamus #neuroscience