Have scientists discovered what causes schizophrenia? Condition may occur because 'gene mutations disrupt chemical balance of the brain'

That is the title of this article I am writing about. "Schizophrenia may be caused by mutations in genes which disrupt the chemical balance in the brain, according to new research.  Scientists say the study produces the 'strongest evidence yet' of what causes the condition, which affects around one per cent of the global population.  They found people with schizophrenia had mutations in their DNA.  These in turn, disrupted genes involved in the transmission of chemical messengers across the brain. The balance of the messengers plays a crucial role in ensuring the brain develops healthily and functions normally.  Some chemical messengers, known as neurotransmitters, 'excite' brain cells into an action, whereas other 'inhibit' the activity of cells, Disruptions to neurotransmitters can therefore change whether cells function, and researchers believe this may be what causes schizophrenia.  They called the finding a 'breakthrough' and said they hoped it could help develop new treatments for the disease. 'We're finally starting to understand what goes wrong in schizophrenia,' said lead author Dr Andrew Pocklington, of Cardiff University."  Well they always said it was a chemical imbalance so I guess they are right.  Now we can hope for better treatments I hope.
The article goes on to say: "What is Schizophrenia?  Schizoprhenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms, including: hallucinations-hearing or seeing things that do not exist, delusions - unusual beliefs not based on reality that often contradict the evidence, muddled thoughts based on hallucinations of delusions, changes in behavior.  Doctors often describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness.  This means sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality. 'Our study marks a significant step towards understanding the biology underpinning schizophrenia.  'It is an incredibly complex condition and has up until very recently kept scientists largely mystified as to its origins.  ' We now have what we hope is a pretty sizable piece of the jigsaw puzzle that will help us develop a coherent model of the disease, while helping us to rule out some of the alternatives.  He added: ' A reliable model of disease is urgently needed to direct future efforts in developing new treatments, which haven't really improved a great deal since the 1970s.'  The first evidence that schizophrenia mutations interfere with excitatory signaling was uncovered in 2011 by the same team.  The new paper not only confirms the previous findings, but also provides the first strong genetic evidence that disruption of genes controlling the actions of chemical messengers contributes to the disorder." I remember when I could not understand reality and also what was happening to me.  I had never had anything like that happen before.
The article ends with: "To reach their conclusions, scientists compared the genetic data of 11,355 patients with schizophrenia against a control group of 16,416 people with the condition.  They looked for types of mutation known as copy number variants (CNVs), mutations in which large stretches of DNA are either deleted or duplicated.  The team compared the CNVs found in people with schizophrenia to those found in unaffected people.  They found the mutations in individuals with the disorder tended to disrupt genes involved in specific aspects of brain function.  These types of mutations are also suspected to be involved in other neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.  Around 635,000 people in the UK will at some stage in their lives be affected by schizophrenia.  The estimated cost of schizophrenia and psychosis to society  is around  11.8 billion a year.  Schizophrenia can cause hallucinations, delusions, muddled thoughts and changes in behavior.  The symptoms can be extremely disruptive, and have a large impact on a person's ability to carry out everyday tasks, such as going to work, maintaining relationships and caring for themselves of others." Lets hope they figure this out soon.  I like to know before I die that the people after me that have this disease can lead as a good of life as I have with this disease or better.

Weak electric current to the brain may improve thinking in people with schizophrenia

That is the title of this article I am writing about. "Lightly stimulating the brain with electricity may improve short-term memory in people with schizophrenia, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The procedure, known as transcranial direct current stimulation, involves placing sponge-covered electrodes on the head and passing a weak electrical current between them. It is widely regarded as safe, and the procedure is being studied as a treatment for depression and Alzheimer's-related memory loss, and to enhance recovery following strokes. David Schretlen, Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, reasoned that this type of brain stimulation might ease some of the cognitive difficulties that afflict people with schizophrenia. "Cognitive impairment is as ubiquitous as hallucinations in schizophrenia, yet medications only treat the hallucinations. So even with medication, affected individuals often remain very disabled," Schretlen says. His hope is that transcranial direct current stimulation could give people with schizophrenia a shot at leading a more normal life." I do not know if people with mental illness will try this for their cognitive symptoms. I know that some of them get upset when they have difficulties.
The article goes on to say: "To test that possibility, Schretlen and five Johns Hopkins colleagues targeted a brain region called the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which plays an important role in short-term or working memory and is abnormal in people with schizophrenia. Interestingly, parents, siblings and children of people with schizophrenia show some of the same abnormalities to a lesser degree. Schretlen recruited 11 participants: five adults with confirmed schizophrenia and six of their close relatives. Each participant received two 30-minute treatments -- one using a negative electrical charge, which the researchers thought might prove beneficial -- and the other using a positive charge as a control. During and after each treatment, participants completed a battery of cognitive tests. On tests of verbal and visual working memory, participants performed significantly better after receiving a negative charge, and the effects were "surprisingly strong," says Schretlen." The results seem very good.  How much does working memory improve? Two thirty minute treatments sound like something a person would try if it makes them better.
The article ends with: "Schretlen also tested participants' verbal fluency, or word retrieval, during the treatment. People with schizophrenia often struggle to find the right words, Schretlen explains. Because the prefrontal cortex contains a brain region responsible for word retrieval, Schretlen thought transcranial direct current stimulation might help. To test that theory, he gave participants a minute to list things they could buy in a supermarket. Most people taking the test rattle off items in categories, naming fruits, then vegetables, then dairy products, for example. Schretlen found that while participants did not rattle off more words, they did better at the challenging task of switching between categories after a negatively charged treatment. The stimulation "was associated with better performance on working memory and subtle changes in word retrieval," Schretlen says.
Schretlen is now studying transcranial direct current stimulation in a larger sample of patients using repeated sessions of stimulation, which he hopes will induce lasting benefits. 'What's nice about transcranial direct current stimulation is that it's so benign. There are no bad side effects,' Schretlen says. 'If it enables people with schizophrenia to think more clearly, it would make a huge contribution to the treatment of this devastating illness.'" It would be beneficial to people with mental illness. Switching between categories that does sound good if they could not do that at first. Hopefully this does help.

Scientists produce strongest evidence yet of schizophrenia's causes

That is the title of this article I am writing about today. "An international team of scientists led by Cardiff University researchers has provided the strongest evidence yet of what causes schizophrenia -- a condition that affects around 1% of the global population. Published in the journal Neuron, their work presents strong evidence that disruption of a delicate chemical balance in the brain is heavily implicated in the disorder. In the largest ever study of its kind, the team found that disease-linked mutations disrupt specific sets of genes contributing to excitatory and inhibitory signalling, the balance of which plays a crucial role in healthy brain development and function. The breakthrough builds on two landmark studies led by members of the Cardiff University team, published last year in the journal Nature. "We're finally starting to understand what goes wrong in schizophrenia," says lead author Dr Andrew Pocklington from Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. "Our study marks a significant step towards understanding the biology underpinning schizophrenia, which is an incredibly complex condition and has up until very recently kept scientists largely mystified as to its origins. 'We now have what we hope is a pretty sizeable piece of the jigsaw puzzle that will help us develop a coherent model of the disease, while helping us to rule out some of the alternatives.' 'A reliable model of disease is urgently needed to direct future efforts in developing new treatments, which haven't really improved a great deal since the 1970s.' Professor Hugh Perry, who chairs the Medical Research Council Neuroscience and Mental Health Board said: "This work builds on our understanding of the genetic causes of schizophrenia -- unravelling how a combination of genetic faults can disrupt the chemical balance of the brain."  I wonder how long it will take them to find a benefit for people with schizophrenia that will help these people live full lives and live up to their potential. I believe they are getting closer to someday fill in the jigsaw puzzle.
The article goes on to say: "'Scientists in the UK, as part of an international consortium, are uncovering the genetic causes of a range of mental health issues, such as schizophrenia.
'In the future, this work could lead to new ways of predicting an individual's risk of developing schizophrenia and form the basis of new targeted treatments that are based on an individual's genetic makeup.' A healthy brain is able to function properly thanks to a precise balance between chemical signals that excite and inhibit nerve cell activity. Researchers studying psychiatric disorders have previously suspected that disruption of this balance contributes to schizophrenia. The first evidence that schizophrenia mutations interfere with excitatory signalling was uncovered in 2011 by the same team, based at Cardiff University's MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics. This paper not only confirms their previous findings, but also provides the first strong genetic evidence that disruption of inhibitory signalling contributes to the disorder." That will help because each person is different and we lose different things.  My memory of numbers is good. Yet when I try to do math I cannot and I was good in high school. I understand were all different that goes to show in the medication what will help one person will not help another.
The article ends: "To reach their conclusions scientists compared the genetic data of 11,355 patients with schizophrenia against a control group of 16,416 people without the condition. They looked for types of mutation known as copy number variants (CNVs), mutations in which large stretches of DNA are either deleted or duplicated. Comparing the CNVs found in people with schizophrenia to those found in unaffected people, the team was able to show that the mutations in individuals with the disorder tended to disrupt genes involved in specific aspects of brain function. The disease-causing effects of CNVs are also suspected to be involved in other neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD. Around 635,000 people in the UK will at some stage in their lives be affected by schizophrenia. The estimated cost of schizophrenia and psychosis to society is around £11.8 billion a year. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be extremely disruptive, and have a large impact on a person's ability to carry out everyday tasks, such as going to work, maintaining relationships and caring for themselves or others." I read everyday some of the hard times others with schizophrenia struggle with everyday.  I also always wonder how I received this disease as no others in my family except maybe a cousin on my dads side had a mental illness no one else.

High Cholesterol May Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia

That is the title of this article I am writing about. "TORONTO — While having high cholesterol may open individuals to cardiovascular risks, there is evidence that elevated lipid levels may actually improve cognition in schizophrenia patients. The finding was based on an assessment of the breakthrough 2005 CATIE study (Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Clinical Effectiveness), according to Henry Nasrallah, MD, chairman of the Department of the Neurology and Psychiatry at St. Louis University School of Medicine, in Missouri. “If [patients] had higher cholesterol, they had higher cognitive scores,” Nasrallah said during a presentation at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting here. He added this also applied to high levels of triglycerides, another type of fat found in the blood. Better cognition was also associated with high HDL cholesterol levels." What does cholesterol have to do with cognition?  I do know a lot of people with schizophrenia would love to have better cognition in exchange for high cholesterol.  Although they would have to risk cardiovascular risks.
The article goes on to say: "The CATIE study also found that patients who gained weight while on antipsychotics also tended to do have better scores on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), a common measure used to measure schizophrenia severity.  'No matter which antipsychotic [a patient took], if they gained even a little bit of weight, they did better,' he said. Those 'that kept their weight or lost weight didn't do as well.' However, he added that weight gain itself was not associated with improved cognition. Nasrallah noted that there are currently no treatments available shown to improve cognition in schizophrenia, an unmet medical need. However, the prospect of having psychiatrists suggest that schizophrenia patients maintain high cholesterol levels puts them in a bind as such levels increase cardiovascular risks." I sure wouldn't  want to gain weight to do better. I am trying to lose what I have gained over the years.  I am finally doing good I walk at least three miles a day. It sure would put psychiatrists in a bind.  Now that they are mixing health in with your treatment of mental illness.
The article ends with: "As to why high lipid levels may benefit cognition in schizophrenia patients, Nasrallah suggested that lipids play an important role in cell wall structure, and may also be good for brain circuitry. In response to a question from an audience member, Nasrallah said that omega-3 fatty acids may also serve as a protective factor for the brain, though he suggested that they are more beneficial in stemming brain inflammation rather than improving cognition."Well we know why now.  Although I would rather have normal cholesterol.  I took  a cholesterol drug once and it was bad that I have never taken them again.  Now instead of lard I use olive oil and that has helped my cholesterol numbers greatly.