Schizophrenia Blog

Fish Oil Helped Stave Off Psychosis in Study Patients

Posted 1 week ago by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Feb. 2 – Among people at high risk of developing schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, fish oil may help reduce their risk, researchers have found.

The new study included 81 high-risk patients with either mild psychotic symptoms, transient psychosis or a family history of psychotic disorders, plus a decrease in daily functioning. These criteria identify people whose risk of becoming psychotic may be as high as 40 percent in a one-year period. Read more...

Related support groups: Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Fish Oils

Brain Scans Could Help Spot Schizophrenia Earlier

Posted 2 weeks ago by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9 – Scanning technology has helped researchers pinpoint the part of the brain that appears to be where psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia begin, a new study says.

The research could help doctors diagnose these types of disorders in their early stages and help scientists develop more effective drugs, according to the report in the Sept. 7 issue of the Archives of Psychiatry.

In the study, researchers at Columbia University in New York City scanned the brains of 18 people at high risk for psychosis, using a novel high-resolution application of functional MRI technology, an imaging method that tracks which parts of the brain are most active. Read more...

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Blacks Often Misdiagnosed With Schizophrenia, Author Says

Posted 4 weeks ago by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Jan. 15 – Black men in the United States are misdiagnosed with schizophrenia at least five times more often than any other racial group.

This trend dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, when equal rights activism was equated with mental illness, said researcher Jonathan Metzl, an associate professor of psychiatry and women's studies at the University of Michigan, and director of U-M's Culture, Health and Medicine Program.

He analyzed archives at the Ionia State Hospital for the Criminally Insane and found that black men, mainly from Detroit during the civil rights era, were taken to the facility and often misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. Read more...

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FDA Approves Lilly's Zyprexa Relprevv for Treatment of Schizophrenia in Adults

Posted 8 weeks ago by Drugs.com

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zyprexa Relprevv (olanzapine) For Extended Release Injectable Suspension for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults, Eli Lilly and Company announced today. Zyprexa Relprevv, a long-acting intramuscular injection, sustains the delivery of olanzapine for up to four weeks.

Different from both oral and injected short-acting formulations, long-acting formulations of antipsychotics allow for stable concentrations of the active drug to remain at a therapeutic range for an extended period of time.(i) Read more...

Related support groups: Zyprexa, Zyprexa Intramuscular, Zyprexa Zydis, Schizophrenia, Olanzapine

Early Treatment of Hearing, Vision Helps in Schizophrenia

Posted 8 weeks ago by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Dec. 11 – Identifying sight and hearing problems in teens who are in the early stages of schizophrenia may help doctors fully restore those senses and lessen the impact of the devastating thought disorder, U.S. researchers say.

A new study found that problems in basic sensory processing abilities cause many of the more complicated cognitive deficits in people with schizophrenia.

"In people with schizophrenia, we know that visual and auditory sensory systems that functioned well in early childhood begin to break down during adolescence, years earlier than the onset of the more complex cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia," Dr. Daniel C. Javitt, of the New York University School of Medicine, said in a news release. Read more...

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FDA Approves Lilly's Zyprexa for Two Adolescent Indications

Posted 9 weeks ago by Drugs.com

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Zyprexa (olanzapine) in tablet form as an option for the treatment of schizophrenia and manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adolescents aged 13-17 years old. Read more...

Related support groups: Zyprexa, Zyprexa Zydis, Schizophrenia, Bipolar I Disorder

Antipsychotic Drugs Spur Dramatic Weight Gain in Kids

Posted 10 weeks ago by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Oct. 27 – Children and teens who take medicines for conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism tend to put on a substantial amount of weight, a new study finds.

The worry is that excessive weight gain and other metabolic changes in childhood can place kids at risk for chronic health problems as adults. Some of these medicines, collectively known as "atypical antipsychotics," have been linked to increased blood-fat levels.

"We are very much afraid that this will lead to diabetes and metabolic syndrome," said study author Dr. Christoph Correll, medical director of the Recognition and Prevention program at the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. Read more...

Related support groups: Abilify, Abilify Discmelt, Clopine, Clozapine Synthon, Clozaril, Denzapine, FazaClo, Geodon, Invega, Risperdal, Risperdal Consta, Risperdal M-Tab, Seroquel, Seroquel XR, Zaponex, Zyprexa, Zyprexa Intramuscular, Zyprexa Zydis, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Autism, Aripiprazole, Clozapine, Olanzapine, Paliperidone, Quetiapine, Risperidone, Ziprasidone, Iloperidone, Asenapine

Possible Gene Regions for Schizophrenia Located

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, July 1 – Immune function may play a role in schizophrenia, say scientists who found that schizophrenia patients have genetic variations on a section of chromosome 6 that contains numerous genes associated with immune response.

That region of the human genome has not previously been suspected as a risk factor for schizophrenia, which affects about 1 in 100 people. It was already known that genetics account for about 80 percent of risk for schizophrenia. Most cases of the mental health disorder are believed to be caused by interactions between a large number of genes. Read more...

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Hormones May Affect Neurological Disease Risk

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, June 30 – Fluctuating hormone levels may explain trends in the timing of women's susceptibility to neurological diseases such as Parkinson's, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, Tourette's and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, new research suggests.

Significant estrogen level changes occur at various stages of women's lives, including adolescence and menopause, and as a result of menstrual cycles. The onset or exacerbation of neurological diseases are most likely to occur at these times, said researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Read more...

Related support groups: Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Tourette's Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Fanapt Sanctioned for Schizophrenia

Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, May 7 – A new pill to treat adults with schizophrenia has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Fanapt (iloperidone), which belongs to the atypical antipsychotic class of drugs, is not approved for patients with dementia-related psychosis, United Press International reported.

The FDA ordered that Fanapt carry a boxed warning about the increased risk of death associated with off-label use of the drug to treat behavioral problems in patients with dementia-related psychosis.

Fanapt is made by Patheon Inc., in Ontario, Canada, for Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Rockville, Md., UPI reported.

More information Read more...

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