Racial Discrimination Associated With Psychotic Symptoms
A study of 650 immigrant and racial & ethnic minority young adults in the United States finds that psychotic symptoms are significantly correlated with...
“An Illness, Inherited?”
Novelist Jenni Fagan writes in the New York Times of being gestated in a psychiatric hospital, told she may have inherited schizophrenia, growing up...
“Thirty Years Later: Still Cured of Schizophrenia”
Psychiatrist Ira Steinman tells the tale on the ISPS (International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Schizophrenia) website of hearing from a former...
20-Year Data Show Antipsychotics Do Not Reduce Psychosis
Martin Harrow's study tracing the effects of antipsychotics on 139 schizophrenia (SZ) and mood-disordered patients over 20 years, just published in Psychological Medicine, finds...
Childhood Trauma Predicts Risk of Violence in Psychosis
A study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research finds the strongest association between a history of childhood trauma and the risk of violence...
“The Lived Experiences of People With Schizophrenia Prescribed Atypical Antipsychotic Medication”
Anthony Gill's doctoral thesis for the University of Leeds attempts to correct the observation that "There is no available evidence that has produced detailed,...
Psychotic Experiences Are Not Strongly Associated With Schizophrenia
Although psychotic experiences (PEs) and schizophrenia are thought to share similar etiological risk factors, PEs also co-exist with depression and, according to research from...
“How Much Do We Know About Schizophrenia and How Well Do We Know It?”
Research from Australia asks the question noted above, and answers "subtle, but diverse, structural brain alterations, altered electrophysiological functioning and sleep patterns, minor physical...
J&J Settles With Montana for $5.9M in Risperdal Marketing Lawsuit
Subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson have agreed to pay $5.9 million to settle Montana's lawsuit over the company's fraudulent marketing of Risperdal. According to...
Cigarette Smoking and Cannabis Equally Associated With ‘Psychotic-Like’ Experiences
Research from the Netherlands finds, in a nationwide survey of 1929 young adults, that cigarette smoking and cannabis were equally strongly associated with the...
Stimulants, But Not Cannabis, Predict Readmission for Psychosis
Prior admissions with stimulant disorder, but not a prior cannabis disorder diagnosis, are a negative prognostic sign in first-episode psychosis according to new research...
Community-Based Treatment Beats Facilities in Low-Income Country Schizophrenia Study
Treatment by lay health workers is more effective than standard facility-based care at reducing disability and psychotic symptoms in people with schizophrenia diagnoses, according...
A Blood Test for Schizophrenia with 83% Accuracy?
An NBC online News article dated October 15, 2010, carried the noteworthy title New blood test may help detect schizophrenia. The article was written by Natasha Allen, a freelance medical journalist. The gist of the article is that there is a new blood test called VeriPsych which "researchers say" is 83% accurate in discriminating people who are "schizophrenic" from people who are not.
“11 Reasons Why Cat Bites May Be Linked To Depression”
Research has shown a correlation between schizophrenia and exposure to cat bites or scratches. This has been theorized to be due to the effects...
Short “DUP” Predicts Better Outcome
A Hong Kong study links short "Duration of Untreated Psychosis" (DUP) to better long-term outcome. The authors propose that factors linked to long DUP...
A New Silver Bullet? The Lurasidone Story
Recently, I have been the target of much wooing by my local Sunovion rep. I think he leaves messages for me almost weekly and he sends me missives - glossy brochures and reprints from major psychiatric journal. What is the subject of this attention? The drug - lurasidone (Latuda).
“Autoimmune Issues Manifest in Many Ways Affecting both Mind and Body”
Beyond Meds reflects on the implications of "Autoimmune Attack Behind Some Cases of Schizophrenia," an article in NewScientist.
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Genetic Protection Against Schizophrenia?
On November 12, 2013, Molecular Psychiatry published online Evidence That Duplications of 22q11.2 Protect Against Schizophrenia, by Rees et al. The print version was published last month – January 2014. The idea of a genetic mutation that would protect one from schizophrenia aroused a good deal of interest and enthusiasm. The paper has added some impetus to psychiatry's claim that the condition known as schizophrenia is a genetic disease. For this reason, I thought it might be helpful to take a closer look at the study.
Have You Ever Taken an Experimental Antipsychotic Called Bifeprunox?
In 2004, a patient was given an experimental antipsychotic called bifeprunox and died of hepatorenal failure nine days later. But the sponsor apparently did not investigate the death for three years. In late 2007 the sponsor issued a safety alert and suspended all bifeprunox studies. This is where things get interesting.
Cognitive Therapy is Safe & Effective for Schizophrenia, Without Drugs
In "the first randomised trial of cognitive therapy for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders not taking antipsychotic drugs", researchers from the U.K. found cognitive...
Traumagenic Neurodevelopmental Model of Psychosis — Revisited
The traumagenic neurodevelopment model of psychosis, introduced in 2001, highlighted similarities between brain abnormalities found both in people who have been abused and those...
Both Older and Younger Parental Age Linked to Mental Health
Recent research has focused on a seemingly high rate of psychiatric disorders in the offspring of older fathers. New research in JAMA Psychiatry, using...
“Oliver Sacks: I Want to De-Stigmatise Hallucinations”
Oliver Sacks opines in NewScientist that "there's a common view, often shared by doctors, that hallucinations denote madness - especially if there's any hearing...
Japan Leads the Way Away From “Schizophrenia” as a Concept
Schizophrenia Bulletin follows the movement change to the name and concept of "Schizophrenia", revealing that Japan has taken the lead. Japan, to remove the...
“Forget the Headlines – Schizophrenia is More Common Than You Might Think”
Despite the headline, this article in The Guardian reviews the notion that schizophrenia is "a wide range of often unrelated conditions, all of which...
