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New hope for schizophrenia sufferers
August 08, 2005Key research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) could lead to the first early diagnostic tool for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
"At the moment we don't have any biological tests for these conditions," said one of the authors, UNSW Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Philip Ward, who is based at Liverpool Hospital's Schizophrenia Research Unit. "Our research could eventually lead to a simple, cost-effective and safe way to distinguish patients with schizophrenia from those suffering bipolar disorder. This is important because a patient can get treatment sooner and hopefully have a better outcome."
Auditory recovery cycle dysfunction in schizophrenia: A study using event-related potentials has just been published in the international journal Psychiatry Research.
"Sixty percent of patients with schizophrenia have auditory hallucinations," said co-author, UNSW PhD candidate Nathan Clunas. "So we decided to look at a particular brain wave-form which measures attention and attention deficits that can be found in these patients."
The researchers recorded the brain waves associated with pairs of sounds in 17 patients with schizophrenia. Subjects heard the sounds through a set of headphones, while performing a visual distraction task. The patients' results were compared with those of a sex and age-matched healthy volunteer group.
"We were looking at what occurs about 100 milliseconds after the sounds were presented," said Nathan Clunas. "The distinctive pattern observed in healthy volunteers was disrupted in patients with schizophrenia.
"These findings may help us understand the problems patients with schizophrenia experience in focussing attention on everyday events," said Nathan Clunas.
The researchers are currently analysing the results of patients with bipolar disorder, to see whether different patterns of response to sounds are seen in these patients.
"Depending on the final results in the bipolar group, we may be on the way to developing a biological test,\\\
Research Australia
"Sixty percent of patients with schizophrenia have auditory hallucinations," said co-author, UNSW PhD candidate Nathan Clunas. "So we decided to look at a particular brain wave-form which measures attention and attention deficits that can be found in these patients."
The researchers recorded the brain waves associated with pairs of sounds in 17 patients with schizophrenia. Subjects heard the sounds through a set of headphones, while performing a visual distraction task. The patients' results were compared with those of a sex and age-matched healthy volunteer group.
"We were looking at what occurs about 100 milliseconds after the sounds were presented," said Nathan Clunas. "The distinctive pattern observed in healthy volunteers was disrupted in patients with schizophrenia.
"These findings may help us understand the problems patients with schizophrenia experience in focussing attention on everyday events," said Nathan Clunas.
The researchers are currently analysing the results of patients with bipolar disorder, to see whether different patterns of response to sounds are seen in these patients.
"Depending on the final results in the bipolar group, we may be on the way to developing a biological test,\\\
Research Australia
Schizophrenia Current Events and Schizophrenia News RSSSchizophrenia gene's role may be broader, more potent, than thought
UCSF scientists studying nerve cells in fruit flies have uncovered a new function for a gene whose human equivalent may play a critical role in schizophrenia.
Full recovery now possible for an 'untreatable' mental illness
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Immune system activated in schizophrenia
Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system.
Why can't chimps speak?
If humans are genetically related to chimps, why did our brains develop the innate ability for language and speech while theirs did not?
Developmental delay could stem from nicotinic receptor deletion
The loss of a gene through deletion of genetic material on chromosome 15 is associated with significant abnormalities in learning and behavior, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine (www.bcm.edu) in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Genetics.
Fighting Sleep, Penn Researchers Reverse the Cognitive Impairment Caused By Sleep Deprivation
A research collaboration led by biologists and neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found a molecular pathway in the brain that is the cause of cognitive impairment due to sleep deprivation.
Testicular tumors may explain why some diseases are more common in children of older fathers
A rare form of testicular tumour has provided scientists with new insights into how genetic changes (mutations) arise in our children.
CSHL-led team discovers rare mutation dramatically increasing schizophrenia risk
An international team of researchers led by geneticist Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has identified a mutation on human chromosome 16 that substantially increases risk for schizophrenia.
Faulty 'wiring' in the brain triggers onset of schizophrenia
A new study by researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King's College London has discovered abnormalities in the white matter of the brain that seem to be critical for the timing of schizophrenia.
General anesthetics lead to learning disabilities in animal models
Studies by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have shown that blocking the NMDA receptor in immature rats leads to profound, rapid brain injury and disruption of auditory function as the animals mature.
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