Schizophrenia Daily News Blog

Rate of Psychotic Disorders May Exceed 3%

"Psychotic disorders are among the most severe and impairing conditions; with a lifetime prevalence exceeding 3%, these disorders are a major public health concern," say investigators reporting in the Archives of General Psychiatry on statistics applied to rates in Finland. These findings indicate a rate of psychotic and bipolar I disorders higher than previously thought. The life-time prevalence of schizophrenia-related disorders in Finland were determined to be 1.26%. Statistics for psychotic disorders included diagnoses of schizophrenia (0.87%), schizoaffective disorder(0.32%), schizophreniform disorder (0.07%), delusional disorder (0.18%), bipolar I disorder (0.24%), major depressive disorder with psychotic features (0.35%), substance-induced psychotic disorders (0.42%) Read More...

Diet Program for Inpatients With Schizophrenia

Weight gain is a common problem in patients with schizophrenia, especially in those using the newer atypical antipsychotic medications. This week there is a new summary on one study of a special dietary approach to minimizing the weight gain for people, and thereby lowering the risk of diabetes. Psychiatric Times reports that"Although the exact mechanism of weight gain associated with atypical antipsychotics is unknown, patients complain about an increase in appetite and a decrease in fullness. With an increase in total caloric intake, weight gain quickly ensues. Based on the success of other programs, Nguyen and colleagues implemented a diet Read More...

Genetic Test for Predicting Risk From Clozapine Becomes Available

Clinical Data, Inc. issued a press release announcing that its PGxHealth division, provider of Therapeutic Diagnostics, has launched a new test, PGxPredict:CLOZAPINE, a pharmacogenetic test designed to aid physicians prescribing or considering prescribing clozapine. Clozapine, considered to be an effective treatment for refractory schizophrenia, carries a significant risk of agranulocytosis, a rare but life-threatening depletion of white blood cells. The PGxPredict:CLOZAPINE test helps to provide patients with specific information about their probability of developing agranulocytosis in response to clozapine. The test is intended to be used as an adjunct to existing clinical information to aid in determining the risk of Read More...

Stress Harms Baby's Brain While in Womb

Research has, over the past years, suggested that significant stress (or long term moderate stress) during pregnancy increases the risk of schizophrenia in children (see here). This week new research further supports the theory that children whose mothers were stressed out during pregnancy are vulnerable to mental and behavioral problems. The BBC Reports that: The Latest UK research by Professor Vivette Glover of Imperial College London found stress caused by verbal arguments with, or violence by, a husband or partner was particularly damaging. Experts blame high levels of the stress hormone cortisol crossing the placenta. Professor Glover found high cortisol Read More...

Early Cognitive Enhancement Therapy May Improve Emotional Intelligence in Schizophrenia

Researchers exploring the use of "cognitive enhancement therapy" (CET) for enhancing social cognition in patients with schizophrenia find that, when used early-on in the course of the illness, it does improve emotional intelligence with "the most pronounced improvements occurring in patients' ability to understand and manage their own and others' emotions". PsychiatryMatters.MD reports that researchers examined the effects of CET versus "enriched supportive therapy" (EST) carried out for a year. The CET group completed approximately 60 hours of computer training in attention, memory, and problem-solving, and also participated in a weekly social-cognitive group that focused on learning how to take Read More...

Schizophrenia Peer Support Program Launched in Canada

The Schizophrenia Society of British Columbia (BCSS), Canada recently launched a well designed peer support program for individuals and families who suffer from schizophrenia. They've made their entire support information and program documents available for free on their web site also so that other support groups can use them and learn from them. The program matches volunteers with persons who are family members of persons with a serious and persistent mental illness. The volunteers, who are also family members of a person with a mental illness, provide peer listening and some information during a weekly phone call or visit. Talking Read More...

Psychiatric Disorders and Substance Abuse

There is a good series of articles on the topic of psychiatric disorders (including schizophrenia) and substance abuse and addictions in Psychiatric Times. Following is a brief excerpt from the introduction to the series: Substance use disorder (SUD) plays a prominent role in the cause, and course of mental illness. It is estimated that 9.1% of our population, or more than 22 million Americans, have SUD; however, only 10% of these persons receive treatment. The incidence of SUD in persons with mental illness (21.3%) is significantly greater than for those without mental illness (7.7%). Of the more than 5 million Read More...

Mind Your Mind - New Resource for Teens with Mental Health Questions

A new web site has been launched in Canada to help teens with mental health problems. MindYourMind.ca (MYM) is a non-profit award winning web site funded in part by the Government of Canada. MYM is dedicated to providing the necessary info, resources and skills to inspire youth to reach out, get help for themselves or give help to their friends who may be coping with stress, mental health issues, self-harming behaviours or suicide. MYM is committed to reducing the stigma often associated with reaching out for help. The activity based coping tools and downloads appeal to youth who are looking Read More...

New Schizophrenia Risk Gene Identified - Chitinase

Scientists have identified a new gene that may indicate predisposition to schizophrenia. In the new study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, a research team lead by Xinzhi Zhao and Ruqi Tang (Shanghai Jiao Tong University) present evidence that genetic variation may indicate predisposition to schizophrenia. Specifically, their findings identify the chitinase 3-like 1 gene as a potential schizophrenia - susceptibility gene and suggest that the genes involved in biological response to adverse conditions are likely linked to schizophrenia. Analyzing two separate groups of Chinese patients with schizophrenia, the researchers observed a positive association between schizophrenia and genetic Read More...

McLean Hospital Researches Genetic Links Between Schizophrenia and Family Traits

Researchers at Harvard's McLean Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts believe that the study of quirky little familial traits such as slowness of eye-tracking, high roof of the mouth, subtle facial anomalies and even the occasional awkward wording, combined with genetic research, may further reveal the genetic underpinnings of schizophrenia. The hospital's Psychology Research Laboratory recently won a $3 million federal grant to see if their theory is correct. According to the Boston Globe, the laboratory's director, Deborah Levy and other researchers say that one possible explanation of the persistence of schizophrenia in the general population at a stable rate of approximately Read More...

New Dopamine Brain Target Discovered: Potential Breakthrough for Schizophrenia Treatment

A team of Canadian researchers, lead by Dr. Susan George and Dr. Brian O'Dowd at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), discovered a distinct dopamine signaling system in the brain. Composed of two different types of dopamine receptors, this novel target may have a significant role in understanding and treating schizophrenia. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (Rashid et al., 2007), this important discovery demonstrates the existence of a Gq/11-coupled signaling unit that triggers a calcium signal, which is turned on by stimulating D1 and D2 dopamine receptors. Unlike other dopamine receptors, this Read More...

Arizona Plans Overhaul of Mental Health Care

The Associated Press reported today that state health officials have decided to revamp Maricopa County's public behavioral health system to address decades-long concerns about the way the mentally ill receive treatment. The new plan would provide more health care choices for the 70,000 county residents who use the system. It also calls for the state to accept bids for a new provider instead of extending the contract of ValueOptions, the private firm that currently oversees the system. The $1.4 billion, three-year contract, is the largest of its kind in the nation and has sparked intense competition. The company that lands Read More...

Treatment for Homeless Youth Pays off in Long Run

With research showing that between 30% and 50% of homeless people have schizophrenia or other serious mental illnesses, this new study From Ohio State University that suggests that treatment for homeless youths is cost-effective in the long run is important because it indicates an investment in helping the homeless benefits all society. In this new study conducted by Ohio State University researchers examined methods to help homeless youth and found that a comprehensive intervention program can indeed dramatically improve their life situation. The six-month study of homeless youth in Albuquerque found that teens who completed the program significantly reduced their Read More...

Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Has Lasting Effects Inside Brain Cells

In spite of studies disproving the dire predictions of two decades ago that "crack babies" were destined to have severe behavior problems, even small amounts of cocaine use during pregnancy can cause subtle but disabling cognitive impairments such as attention deficits, learning disabilities and mental illness, later in life even though the children may initially appear no different than their peers early in life. Research suggested that cocaine exposure had altered the development of dopamine pathways in the brain with a decrease in the functioning of dopamine D1 receptors. Some of the subtle symptoms of some children prenatally exposed to Read More...

Mental Illness Advocates Speak Out in North Carolina

A large crowd of concerned citizens attended the 29th Annual Legislative Breakfast for Mental Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, partially sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Knowing that legislators need to hear from their constituents about the need for housing, services and education for people with mental illnesses, and how the lack thereof affects not only them, but their families as well, they had a chance to be heard. The Herald-Sun (Orange county, North Carolina) reported that the response of legislators was to encourage the group there to help other districts organize and lobby their legislators, Read More...

Free Brain Cognition Health Test

Recently, The Brain Resource Company launched a free, confidential, 40-minute cognitive brain test in partnership with the Alliance for Aging Research. While the test has been developed for older people to monitor their brain health, it may also be valuable for people who have a mental illness. The company is offering the test at no cost until May 14, 2007. For people who have schizophrenia it is likely that test scores will be lower than otherwise, but it might be an interesting way to obtain a baseline against which to monitor changes over many months time. For example, it might Read More...

Genetic Studies Show DISC1 Gene Likely a Player in Schizophrenia

The DISC1 gene, whose variation has been linked to a 50% increase in the risk of developing schizophrenia, has again made the news. An article published in the Schizophrenia Research Forum reports on three new studies, two molecular and one genetic, that strengthen the case for the involvement of DISC1 in the development of schizophrenia. The DISC1 gene appears to be involved in neuronal outgrowth. Neuronal outgrowth refers to the many connections made between neurons during development. Variation in the DISC1 gene can lead to disruption of neuronal outgrowth. Together the three papers indicate that failures of axonal transport (axons Read More...

NIMH-Funded Phase II Trials for Schizophrenia Cognitive Impairment Drug Begins

Impairment in cognition (thinking) can be disabling for some people with schizophrenia. The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is funding research into addressing this persistent problem affecting the quality of life for so many people. Below is a press release about a drug created by Allon Therapeutics Inc., which, it is hoped, will alleviate some of the cognitive impairment that is common in patients with schizophrenia. The drug, tagged for now as simply AL-108, is entering into NIMH-funded phase II clinical trials. Allon Drug Selected for Clinical Trial in the Treatment of Cognitive Impairment in Schizophrenia Allon Therapeutics Read More...

Earlier Schizophrenia Onset Predicts Worse Disease Course

An earlier age at onset of schizophrenia appears to be linked to the severity of the illness and has prognostic value, conclude investigators. Results of a study published in the journal Schizophrenia Research, show that a younger age for a person first admitted to a hospital for schizophrenia is correlated to several increased risks including a longer first stay at the hospital. Other correlations are multiple hospital admissions and more inpatient days per year. Breaking out the data into age groups found that 82.5% of patients under 17 years old at first admission had more than one admission, compared with Read More...

Elevated Prenatal Homocysteine May Raise Schizophrenia Risk

An elevated serum (blood) homocysteine level is definitely not good for any person, but new research also suggests that it may not be good for the mother's developing fetus either. Fetuses exposed to elevated homocysteine levels in the third trimester of pregnancy seem to have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia later in life, research suggests. Investigators report in the Archives of General Psychiatry that infants born to mothers with raised homocysteine levels during the third trimester of pregnancy (but not during the first and second trimesters) were more than twice as likely to later develop schizophrenia. "Elevated third-trimester homocysteine Read More...

Abilify Monitoring Recommended

Doctors Oosterhuis, Kraats and Tenback, writing up a case report in The American Journal of Psychiatry about a single patient with an overly elevated blood level of Abilify (aripiprazole), voiced concerns about its safety in people termed "slow metabolizers". Aripiprazole's metabolism is influenced by CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 genes. These genes control production of specific enzymes important in the metabolism of drugs. In this case, the patient's high aripiprazole blood level was caused by a common genetic variation (called a polymorphism) in the CYP2D6 gene. The CYP2D6 gene variation slows down the metabolism of aripiprazole. Because the drug is not eliminated Read More...

As Number of Prison Inmates Soar, Experts Stress Effective Treatment for Mental illness

Physicians are an essential component of correctional institutions and have a responsibility to advocate for effective and humane treatment for inmates. This is the view expressed in a commentary published in the January 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine by Scott A. Allen, MD, and Josiah D. Rich, MD, MPH, physicians at the Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights at The Miriam Hospital and Brown University Medical School. Citing the steady increase of incarcerated individuals in the United States that has resulted in record high inmate numbers, the authors point to the inadequate treatment of mental Read More...

People With Mental Health Disabilities Fare Poorly in Discrimination Lawsuits

Sixteen years after Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with psychiatric disabilities are faring worse in court cases against employers for discrimination than are people with physical disabilities, researchers have found in a national study. "People with psychiatric disabilities were less likely to receive a monetary award or job-related benefit, more likely to feel as though they were not treated fairly during the legal proceedings and more likely to believe they received less respect in court," said Jeffrey Swanson, Ph.D., a study investigator and an associate professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center. "When people with Read More...

$9 Million For Development of New Schizophrenia Drug

Omeros Corporation announced today that the Stanley Medical Research Institute (SMRI) will provide up to $9 million in equity and grant funding toward the development of Omeros' proprietary drug candidate for the treatment of schizophrenia. The funding is expected to allow Omeros to move the schizophrenia program forward through the completion of Phase 1 clinical trials. “We are pleased to be working with SMRI,” said Gregory A. Demopulos, M.D., chairman and CEO of Omeros. “The Institute’s decision to fund Omeros’ schizophrenia program validates the program’s scientific and commercial potential. Our compound and its target hold real promise for significant improvement Read More...

New Study on the Causal Factors in Schizophrenia Prompts Concern

A new study out of Finland that has looked into the factors affecting the incidence and prevalence of schizophrenia are showing that schizophrenia "is not the egalitarian disorder we once thought it was." SchizophreniaForum reports on a study and editorial that suggest that "Rather than the previous view - that schizophrenia prevalence varied little among different societies and cultures - it is now appreciated that the disease varies from country to country, and between men and women, so that "the epidemiology of schizophrenia is no longer a flat and featureless horizon," but instead bears "surprisingly rich contours." Because of this, Read More...

Social Intelligence More Useful Than IQ? Important for Mental Health

Many schizophrenia researchers, and research studies, suggest that having positive, empathic and low stress relationships from early childhood onwards have a very positive impact on mental health - even to the extent that they significantly reduce the risk of schizophrenia in children who have an increased biological risk for the disorder. In fact recent research in this area includes a study out of Finland that suggests that Healthy Family Social Environment can significantly reduce schizophrenia risk, while positive relationships with parents also seem to lower risk of schizophrenia for people who are predisposed to mental illness. Additionally, in other independent Read More...

North Carolina Housing Mentally Ill in Nursing Homes

The News & Observer reports that since North Carolina's state hospitals and mental health centers have been increasingly phased out, there are insufficient appropriate placement and treatment options for people with severe mental illnesses. Designed to monitor people discharged from hospitals, social rehabilitation day programs (known as "clubhouses") and community-treatment teams, help some in day-to-day living, but not enough of even these options exist to meet demand. With nowhere else to go, North Carolina is increasingly placing the severely mentally ill into "rest homes" for the elderly rather than in an environment specifically tailored to people with mental illness. In Read More...

Advocates Renew Push for Mental Health 'Parity' Bill

As we mentioned last week - mental health advocates are gearing up for a renewed effort to get mental health insurance parity this year with support from the newly-elected Democratic politicians. NPR has a good report on this effort and if you're at all interested in this topic, we encourage you to listen to it. "A bill has long lingered in Congress that would require health insurers to provide equal benefits for mental and physical ailments. President Bush has vowed to sign such a mental health "parity" bill on several occasions, but a Republican-controlled House repeatedly blocked it. Now with Read More...

Poet Finds Catharsis Writing About Mother's Schizophrenia

Last year we did an interview with Michael Mack, the performance artist who tells the story of growing up with a mother who had schizophrenia. That interview was one of the most popular news stories on our web site last year so we thought that you'd like to read about an update on Michael Mack that recently was published in Psychiatric News: The room darkens, and sad, frightening voices echo through the air. Mixing light and shadow with the skills of an actor and the voice of a poet, Michael Mack brings the sensations of schizophrenia to his listeners. The Read More...

Playing Soccer To Alleviate Symptoms of Schizophrenia

An Italian psychiatrist, Dr. Mauro Raffeli, has created a competitive soccer team comprised of patients suffering from schizophrenia and depression. According to Dr. Raffeli, playing soccer twice a week has significantly reduced the need for psychiatric medication and has helped patients suffering from severe mental illness return to work and reintegrate into society. "Drugs you can often never get off of, but reintegrating into society is as important." Says Raffeli. Since the formation of Dr. Raffeli's original team, 50 other soccer teams comprised of patients with mental illnesses have sprung up around Italy. However, Dr. Raffeli's is the team to Read More...

New Early Psychosis / Schizophrenia Evaluation Site Opens in New York City

A new early schizophrenia evaluation and treatment center has opened in New York city. Congratulations to Dr. Cheryl Corcoran and her team. Schizophrenia research has consistently demonstrated that the sooner that psychosis and schizophrenia are treated, the better the outcome. If you or a family member are at high risk of schizophrenia (i.e., have a parent who has schizophrenia or a strong family history of schizophrenia) we recommend you contact the center. See below for more information. For a worldwide list of early evaluation and treatment centers for schizophrenia click here. The Center of Prevention & Evaluation (COPE) – Columbia Read More...

Dawn Simulation and Negative Air Ionization Both Combat Wintertime Blues

For many people with "wintertime blues" or the more severe wintertime depression called "Seasonal Affective Disorder" (SAD) triggered by reduced sunlight, bright light therapy may be recommended in lieu of antidepressants, which can have side-effects that some people cannot tolerate. However, there are those who dislike subjecting themselves to the necessary 30 minutes or so of bright light early in the morning after waking up, while other people find the bright light therapy as "activating" or "destabilizing" as the antidepressants they had wished to avoid. Researchers have therefore been investigating safe alternatives to bright light therapy that can be used Read More...

Excessive Startle Response in Schizophrenia

An excessive startle response has been a well-documented phenomenon in many patients with schizophrenia. In the medical arena, prepulse inhibition (PPI) is the term coined to describe the ability most people have to filter out expected stimuli and not get overly startled by it. It has been noted by researchers that people with schizophrenia tend to show a startle response more strongly to an auditory stimulus than control subjects do, even after being given a warning to expect that stimulus. Researchers have wondered whether the noted deficit in PPI (i.e. the excessive startle response) is a biomarker correlated to other Read More...

A Positive Relationship With Both Parents During Childhood May Protect Against Schizophrenia in Adulthood

In a study published in 2002 it was reported that among those individuals who were considered at high-risk for schizophrenia, those with poor relationships with their parents were more likely to develop schizophrenia than those who had reported a good one. The authors of this article suggest that positive parental relations may help to protect the individual from developing schizophrenia. In this study 23% of high-risk subjects with poor relationships with both parents developed schizophrenia versus only 7% of high-risk subjects with good parental relationships. Before we go into greater depth on this study we want to note that recently, Read More...

Mental Health Risks Vary Within the US Black Population

The longer Black Caribbean immigrants stay in the US, the poorer their mental health becomes. That's one finding from a new study that examined the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among Black individuals in the US. The study appears in the January 2007 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. David R. Williams, lead author and professor in the Department of Society, Human Development and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, and his colleagues examined data from the National Study of American Life, the largest study of mental health among Blacks in the US, to look at mental Read More...

Shorter Inpatient Mental Health Treatment for Youth

A new landmark study indicates that children and adolescents are receiving shorter inpatient stays for mental health treatment. In the most comprehensive study of its kind, researchers have found that the inpatient length of stay for children and adolescents with mental illness fell more than sixty percent between 1990 and 2000, despite concurrent increases in illness severity and self-harm, and declining transfers to intermediate and inpatient care within the same population. Lead author, Brady Case, MD, with the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center, the Brown Medical School Division of Child and Psychiatry Fellowship Program, and the New York University School Read More...

Mental Health Parity Bill to Face House Vote

The Associate press reported last week that: After years of trying, advocates think they have a good chance of getting Congress to pass legislation... that would require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses, if their policies include both. The legislation [The Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act], named for the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, a Minnesota Democrat who championed the cause, has strong support in Congress but has run into GOP roadblocks. In the last congressional session, 231 House members more than half of the chamber signed on as co-sponsors. The GOP leadership, which in the Read More...

Less Corruption in US Politics? New Promises to Ban Perks From Lobbyists

As we've reported in the past, many political analysts believe that one of the key reasons that mental health insurance is so poor in the US (we are the only developed country in the world without universal health insurance coverage of serious mental illnesses) is because of the ability for US companies to pay lobbyists large amounts of money - who in turn funnel the funds to politicians and their staff in the form of gifts, special trips around the world, campaign contributions, and so forth - to influence how the politicians vote on key bills (i.e., bills that would Read More...

Lilly to Pay Up to $500 Million to Settle Zyprexa Lawsuits

The New York Times reported today that Eli Lilly will pay up to $500 million to settle approximately 18,000 lawsuits from people who claimed they developed diabetes or other diseases after taking Zyprexa, Lilly's antipsychotic medication used for treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The NY Times further stated that "Including earlier settlements over Zyprexa, Lilly has now agreed to pay at least $1.2 billion to 28,500 people who claim they were injured by the drug. At least 1,200 suits are still pending, the company said. About 20 million people worldwide have taken Zyprexa since its introduction in 1996. The Read More...