Are schizophrenia and autism close relations?

 

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a category that includes autism, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, are characterized by difficulty with social interaction and communication, or repetitive behaviors. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Management says that one in 88 children in the US is somewhere on the Autism spectrum ? an alarming ten-fold increase in the last four decades.

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Researchers identify key genes and prototype predictive test for schizophrenia

An Indiana University-led research team, along with a group of national and international collaborators, has identified and prioritized a comprehensive group of genes most associated with schizophrenia that together can generate a score indicating whether an individual is at higher or lower risk of developing the disease.

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Scripps Research scientists discover a brain cell malfunction in schizophrenia

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered that DNA stays too tightly wound in certain brain cells of schizophrenic subjects.

The findings suggest that drugs already in development for other diseases might eventually offer hope as a treatment for schizophrenia and related conditions in the elderly.

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Study finds bidirectional relationship between schizophrenia and epilepsy

Researchers from Taiwan have confirmed a bidirectional relation between schizophrenia and epilepsy. The study published today in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), reports that patients with epilepsy were nearly 8 times more likely to develop schizophrenia and those with schizophrenia were close to 6 times more likely to develop epilepsy.

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Mutations not inherited from parents cause more than half the cases of schizophrenia

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have shown that new, or “de novo,” protein-altering mutations—genetic errors that are present in patients but not in their parents—play a role in more than 50 percent of “sporadic” —i.e., not hereditary—cases of schizophrenia. The findings will be published online on August 7, 2011, in Nature Genetics.

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L-lysine may help schizophrenia sufferers cope

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that currently affects about one in every 200 people. Most patients find some relief from their symptoms by treatment with antipsychotics, however they may still suffer from cognitive and negative symptoms. These include poor concentration and memory, apathy, or a reduced ability to cope in social situations. Preliminary research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal BMC Medicine shows that patients who received L-lysine alongside their normal medication found some reduction in the severity of their symptoms.

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Patients’ own cells yield new insights into the biology of schizophrenia

LA JOLLA, CA- After a century of studying the causes of schizophrenia-the most persistent disabling condition among adults-the cause of the disorder remains unknown. Now induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from schizophrenic patients have brought researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies a step closer to a fundamental understanding of the biological underpinnings of the disease.

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Schizophrenia gene mutation found; target for new drugs

In a major advance for schizophrenia research, an international team of scientists, led by Jonathan Sebat, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and cellular and molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified a gene mutation strongly linked to the brain disorder – and a signaling pathway that may be treatable with existing compounds.

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Dopamine model could play role in treating schizophrenia and drug addiction

In the brain, dopamine is involved in a number of processes that control the way we behave. If an action results in the substance being released, we are more likely to repeat the action. This applies to actions such as eating, sexual intercourse or winning a competition. However, the same also holds true when individuals take harmful narcotics. Scientists believe that mental illnesses such as schizophrenia can be linked to dopamine imbalances.

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Brain chemical finding could open door to new schizophrenia drugs

New research has linked psychosis with an abnormal relationship between two signalling chemicals in the brain

New research has linked psychosis with an abnormal relationship between two signalling chemicals in the brain. The findings, published in tomorrow’s edition of the journal Biological Psychiatry, suggest a new approach to preventing psychotic symptoms, which could lead to better drugs for schizophrenia.

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