 |
|
Genes may interact with obstetric complications to boost schizophrenia risk
January 15, 2008The cause of schizophrenia is thought to include both epistasis and gene-environment interactions. We sought to test whether a set of schizophrenia candidate genes regulated by hypoxia or involved in vascular function in the brain (AKT1, BDNF, CAPON, CHRNA7, COMT, DTNBP1, GAD1, GRM3, NOTCH4, NRG1, PRODH, RGS4, TNF-á) interacted with serious obstetric complications to influence risk for schizophrenia. A family-based study of transmission disequilibrium was conducted in 116 trios. Twenty-nine probands had at least one serious obstetric complication (OC) using the McNeil-Sjostrom Scale, and many of the OCs reported were associated with the potential for fetal hypoxia. Analyses were conducted using conditional logistic regression and a likelihood ratio test (LRT) between nested models was performed to assess significance. Of the 13 genes examined, 4 (AKT1 (3 SNPs), BDNF (2 SNPs), DTNBP1 (1 SNP) and GRM3 (1 SNP)) showed significant evidence for gene-by-environment interaction (LRT p-values ranged from 0.011-0.037). Although our sample size was modest and therefore the power to detect interactions was limited, we report significant evidence for genes involved in neurovascular function or regulated by hypoxia interacting with the presence of serious obstetric complications to increase risk for schizophrenia.
Molecular Psychiatry
Schizophrenia News and Current Schizophrenia Events RSSAnti-psychotic drug use in the elderly increases despite drug safety warnings
Three regulatory warnings of serious adverse events slowed the growth of use of atypical antipsychotic drugs among elderly patients with dementia, but they did not reduce the overall prescription rate of these drugs.
Looking beyond the drug receptor for clues to drug effectiveness
Antipsychotic drugs that are widely used to treat schizophrenia and other problems may not work as scientists have assumed, according to findings from Duke University Medical Center researchers that could lead to changes in how these drugs are developed and prescribed.
Severe, acute maternal stress linked to the development of schizophrenia
Pregnant women who endure the psychological stress of being in a war zone are more likely to give birth to a child who develops schizophrenia.
Unlocking mystery of why dopamine freezes Parkinson's patients
Parkinson's disease and drug addiction are polar opposite diseases, but both depend upon dopamine in the brain. Parkinson's patients don't have enough of it; drug addicts get too much of it. Although the importance of dopamine in these disorders has been well known, the way it works has been a mystery.
Human brains pay a price for being big
Metabolic changes responsible for the evolution of our unique cognitive abilities indicate that the brain may have been pushed to the limit of its capabilities. Research published today in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Biology adds weight to the theory that schizophrenia is a costly by-product of human brain evolution.
Estrogen relieves psychotic symptoms in women with schizophrenia
When combined with antipsychotic medications, the estrogen estradiol appears to be a useful treatment in women with schizophrenia, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
N.Y. Research Team Discovers How Antidepressants and Cocaine Interact with Brain Cell Targets
In a first, scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University Medical Center have described the specifics of how brain cells process antidepressant drugs, cocaine and amphetamines. These novel findings could prove useful in the development of more targeted medication therapies for a host of psychiatric diseases, most notably in the area of addiction.
Study Shows Promising Results in Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Depression
New data from a study of patients with treatment-resistant depression who underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the subcallosal cingulate region (SCG or Cg25) of the brain shows that this intervention is generally safe and provides significant improvement in patients as early as one month after treatment. The patients also experienced continued and sustained improvement over time.
Protein marker for schizophrenia risk
A protein found in immune cells may be a reliable marker for schizophrenia risk, report researchers in a new proteomics study appearing in the July issue of Molecular and Cellular proteomics.
Schizophrenia linked to dysfunction in molecular brain pathway activated by marijuana
Alterations in a molecular brain pathway activated by marijuana may contribute to the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
More Schizophrenia News Articles
 | Abnormal Psychology (5th Edition) by Thomas F. Oltmanns, Robert E. Emery This new edition retains the book's engaging and innovative systems approach, integrating the biological, psychological, and social perspectives in one concurrent story. Scientific methods are presented in a clear and non-threatening manner, and are based on the most current research. Chapter topics include personality disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, sexual and gender... |
 | The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music by Steve Lopez A moving story of the remarkable bond between a journalist in search of a story and a homeless, classically trained musician—destined to be a major motion picture from DreamWorks, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.When Steve Lopez saw Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’ skid row, he found it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years earlier,... |
 | Center Cannot Hold, The: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn R. Saks Elyn Saks is a success by any measure: she's an endowed professor at the prestigious University of Southern California Gould School of Law. She has managed to achieve this in spite of being diagnosed as schizophrenic and given a "grave" prognosis -- and suffering the effects of her illness throughout her life.Saks was only eight, and living an otherwise idyllic childhood in sunny 1960s Miami,... |
 | The Quiet Room: A Journey Out of the Torment of Madness by Lori Schiller, Amanda Bennett |
 | Mad In America: Bad Science, Bad Medicine, and The Enduring Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill by Robert Whitaker Hot on the heels of an optimistic film about Nobelist John Nash's schizophrenic journey comes medical journalist Robert Whitaker's disturbing exposé of the cruel and corrupt business of treating mental illness in America. Mad in America begins by surveying three centuries of mental health treatments to discover why positive outcomes for schizophrenics in the U.S. for the last 25 years have... |
 | Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Consumers, and Providers (4th Edition) by E. Fuller Torrey The third edition of this indispensable manual thoroughly details everything patients, families, and mental health professionals need to know about one of the most widespread and misunderstood... |
 | Abnormal Psychology in a Changing World by Jeffrey S. Nevid, Spence A. Rathus, Beverly Greene This introduction to abnormal psychology is designed to make the material more accessible and inviting to a new generation in a changing world. Noteworthy for its clear and engaging writing style that is accessible to readers, superior pedagogy, many engaging case examples and user-oriented applications, and integration of sociocultural material throughout. The authors adopt an interactionist... |
 | Is There No Place on Earth for Me? by Susan Sheehan " A brilliantly documented chronicle of young woman's long struggle with schizophrenia."-- Willard Gaylin, The New Republic"Sylvia Frumkin," highly intelligent young girl, became a schizophrenic in her late teens and spent most of the next seventeen years in anti out of mental institutions. Susan Sheehan, a talented reporter followed "Sylvia" for almost a year talking with and observing her... |
 | Stalking Irish Madness: Searching for the Roots of My Family's Schizophrenia by Patrick Tracey In this powerful, sometimes harrowing, deeply felt story, Patrick Tracey journeys to Ireland to track the origin and solve the mystery of his Irish-American family's multigenerational struggle with schizophrenia.For most Irish Americans, a trip to Ireland is often an occasion to revisit their family's roots. But for Patrick Tracey, the lure of his ancestral home is a much more powerful need: part... |
 | A Thousand Plateaus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia by Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, Brian Massumi |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |