Individuals who experience both childhood adversity and traumatic events in adulthood appear more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than those exposed to only one of these types of incidents, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. In addition, the risk was further increased in individuals with a certain genetic mutation.
Although 40 percent to 70 percent of Americans have experienced traumatic events, only about 8 percent develop PTSD during their lifetimes, according to background information in the article. PTSD is a complex anxiety disorder that involves re-experiencing, avoidance and increased arousal following exposure to a life-threatening event. "In addition to the obvious effect of environmental factors, PTSD has a heritable component," the authors write. Recent studies estimate that genetic factors account for approximately 30 percent of the difference in PTSD symptoms.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Showing posts with label genetics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label genetics. Show all posts
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Schizophrenia genetically linked to other psychiatric disorders
A huge international study has discovered the first common genetic mutations involved in schizophrenia. The results show that schizophrenia shares some genetic links with other psychiatric problems, including bipolar disorder.
Three research consortia analysed the DNA of 15,000 people with schizophrenia and 50,000 health control subjects, to find differences between those with and without the disease. Their findings are published in Nature, the journal
Schizophrenia, which affects about 1 per cent of adults, tends to run in families. This tripartite study has uncovered a vast array of genetic variation that is estimated to account for about a third of the disease's total heritability.
"Each individual gene has a small effect, raising the [risk] of schizophrenia from 1 per cent to 1.2 per cent at most," said David Collier, of the Institute of Psychiatry, London.
While the findings do not provide any astonishing revelations, the international collaboration has been a "spectacular success", according to Dr Collier. It will lead soon to a better understanding of the biology of schizophrenia, though new diagnostic tests and treatments lie further in the future.
READ MORE @ FINANCIAL TIMES
Three research consortia analysed the DNA of 15,000 people with schizophrenia and 50,000 health control subjects, to find differences between those with and without the disease. Their findings are published in Nature, the journal
Schizophrenia, which affects about 1 per cent of adults, tends to run in families. This tripartite study has uncovered a vast array of genetic variation that is estimated to account for about a third of the disease's total heritability.
"Each individual gene has a small effect, raising the [risk] of schizophrenia from 1 per cent to 1.2 per cent at most," said David Collier, of the Institute of Psychiatry, London.
While the findings do not provide any astonishing revelations, the international collaboration has been a "spectacular success", according to Dr Collier. It will lead soon to a better understanding of the biology of schizophrenia, though new diagnostic tests and treatments lie further in the future.
READ MORE @ FINANCIAL TIMES
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Hoopla, and Disappointment, in Schizophrenia Research
The journal Nature held a big press conference in London Wednesday, at the World Conference of Science Journalists, to unveil three large studies of the genetics of schizophrenia. Press releases from five American and European institutions celebrated the findings, one using epithets like “landmark,” “major step forward,” and “real scientific breakthrough.” It was the kind of hoopla you’d expect for an actual scientific advance.
It seems to me the reports represent more of a historic defeat, a Pearl Harbor of schizophrenia research.
The defeat points solely to the daunting nature of the adversary, not to any failing on the part of the researchers, who were using the most advanced tools available. Still, who is helped by dressing up a severely disappointing setback as a “major step forward”?
The principal news from the three studies is that schizophrenia is caused by a very large number of errant genes, not a manageable and meaningful handful.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
It seems to me the reports represent more of a historic defeat, a Pearl Harbor of schizophrenia research.
The defeat points solely to the daunting nature of the adversary, not to any failing on the part of the researchers, who were using the most advanced tools available. Still, who is helped by dressing up a severely disappointing setback as a “major step forward”?
The principal news from the three studies is that schizophrenia is caused by a very large number of errant genes, not a manageable and meaningful handful.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Inherited Depression Risk Linked to Brain Structure Abnormalities
Depression risk passed down through families may be due, in part, to structural thinning in a region of the brain that processes social and emotional stimuli, researchers said.
People with a family history of major depression had a 28% reduction in the thickness of gray matter in the right cerebral hemisphere compared to people with no known risk, Bradley Peterson, M.D., of the Columbia University Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute, and colleagues found.
The effect was "remarkable for its magnitude and spatial extent," rivaling morphological abnormalities of the most severe neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's diseases, they reported online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
People with a family history of major depression had a 28% reduction in the thickness of gray matter in the right cerebral hemisphere compared to people with no known risk, Bradley Peterson, M.D., of the Columbia University Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute, and colleagues found.
The effect was "remarkable for its magnitude and spatial extent," rivaling morphological abnormalities of the most severe neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and Alzheimer's diseases, they reported online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
READ MORE @ MEDPAGE TODAY
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Mental illness 'link to parents'
Children of bipolar parents have a 13-fold increased chance of suffering the same problem or other psychiatric disorders themselves, a study has shown.
A team of psychiatrists assessed two groups of children aged six to 18 for signs of bipolar disorder - formally known as manic depression - or other problems such as mood or anxiety disorders.
One group of 388 children had mothers or fathers with bipolar disorder. The other group of 251 had parents with no mental health problems.
A total of 10.6% of children with bipolar parents were positively tested for bipolar disorder or mood and anxiety disorders. In comparison, just 0.8% of children of mentally healthy parents had psychiatric conditions.
READ MORE @ PRESS ASSOCIATION
A team of psychiatrists assessed two groups of children aged six to 18 for signs of bipolar disorder - formally known as manic depression - or other problems such as mood or anxiety disorders.
One group of 388 children had mothers or fathers with bipolar disorder. The other group of 251 had parents with no mental health problems.
A total of 10.6% of children with bipolar parents were positively tested for bipolar disorder or mood and anxiety disorders. In comparison, just 0.8% of children of mentally healthy parents had psychiatric conditions.
READ MORE @ PRESS ASSOCIATION
Monday, January 19, 2009
New study: Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are genetically linked
A new study suggests that if schizophrenia runs in a family, there's a good chance that bipolar disorder does as well (and vice versa). The findings, published today in the journal The Lancet, suggest that the two disorders are caused by some of the same genes.
"These findings say that [schizophrenia and bipolar disorder] are related, above all, for genetic reasons," says lead study author Paul Lichtenstein, a genetic epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. "[Therefore] it might not be a good idea to view these disorders as separate entities."
Lichtenstein and his colleagues (researchers from both the U.S. and Sweden) scoured the entire Swedish population for anyone with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder by reviewing psychiatric discharge data from all Swedish hospitals between 1973 and 2004.
READ MORE @ SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
"These findings say that [schizophrenia and bipolar disorder] are related, above all, for genetic reasons," says lead study author Paul Lichtenstein, a genetic epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. "[Therefore] it might not be a good idea to view these disorders as separate entities."
Lichtenstein and his colleagues (researchers from both the U.S. and Sweden) scoured the entire Swedish population for anyone with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder by reviewing psychiatric discharge data from all Swedish hospitals between 1973 and 2004.
READ MORE @ SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Genetic Determinants Of ADHD Examined
A special issue of American Journal of Medical Genetics (AJMG): Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics presents a comprehensive overview of the latest progress in genetic research of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The issue covers major trends in the field of complex psychiatric genetics, underscoring how genetic studies of ADHD have evolved, and what approaches are needed to uncover its genetic origins.
ADHD is a complex condition with environmental and genetic causes. It is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that has an onset in childhood. It is one of the most common psychiatric diseases, affecting between 8-12 percent of children worldwide. The drugs used to treat ADHD are highly effective, making ADHD one of the most treatable psychiatric disorders.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
ADHD is a complex condition with environmental and genetic causes. It is characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that has an onset in childhood. It is one of the most common psychiatric diseases, affecting between 8-12 percent of children worldwide. The drugs used to treat ADHD are highly effective, making ADHD one of the most treatable psychiatric disorders.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Sunday, November 16, 2008
In a Novel Theory of Mental Disorders, Parents’ Genes Are in Competition
Two scientists, drawing on their own powers of observation and a creative reading of recent genetic findings, have published a sweeping theory of brain development that would change the way mental disorders like autism and schizophrenia are understood.
The theory emerged in part from thinking about events other than mutations that can change gene behavior. And it suggests entirely new avenues of research, which, even if they prove the theory to be flawed, are likely to provide new insights into the biology of mental disease.
At a time when the search for the genetic glitches behind brain disorders has become mired in uncertain and complex findings, the new idea provides psychiatry with perhaps its grandest working theory since Freud, and one that is grounded in work at the forefront of science. The two researchers — Bernard Crespi, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Christopher Badcock, a sociologist at the London School of Economics, who are both outsiders to the field of behavior genetics — have spelled out their theory in a series of recent journal articles.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
The theory emerged in part from thinking about events other than mutations that can change gene behavior. And it suggests entirely new avenues of research, which, even if they prove the theory to be flawed, are likely to provide new insights into the biology of mental disease.
At a time when the search for the genetic glitches behind brain disorders has become mired in uncertain and complex findings, the new idea provides psychiatry with perhaps its grandest working theory since Freud, and one that is grounded in work at the forefront of science. The two researchers — Bernard Crespi, a biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Christopher Badcock, a sociologist at the London School of Economics, who are both outsiders to the field of behavior genetics — have spelled out their theory in a series of recent journal articles.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Medical Panel Disproves Psychiatric Theory - Finding No Evidence of Schizophrenia as Genetic Disease
After 25 years of psychiatric research attempting to single out a genetic component to verify the medical existence of schizophrenia, a panel of medical researchers from Australia, France and the United States concluded that no such genes exist, nullifying the genetic theory that psychiatrists have passed off as factual despite any conclusive evidence.
The study entitled “No Significant Association of 14 Candidate Genes with Schizophrenia in a Large European Ancestry Sample: Implications for Psychiatric Genetics,” published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found there is no significant association of schizophrenia with hereditary markers previously thought to be indicative of it.
“Research has never shown any link between genes and schizophrenia,” said Mary Boyle, emeritus professor of clinical psychology from the University of East London. “There has been a vast amount of time and money spent. Yet nothing has come from it. If people want to continue this research, good luck to them. But my worry is that they are being given public funding.”
READ MORE @ PR URGENT
The study entitled “No Significant Association of 14 Candidate Genes with Schizophrenia in a Large European Ancestry Sample: Implications for Psychiatric Genetics,” published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found there is no significant association of schizophrenia with hereditary markers previously thought to be indicative of it.
“Research has never shown any link between genes and schizophrenia,” said Mary Boyle, emeritus professor of clinical psychology from the University of East London. “There has been a vast amount of time and money spent. Yet nothing has come from it. If people want to continue this research, good luck to them. But my worry is that they are being given public funding.”
READ MORE @ PR URGENT
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Partially Shared Genetic Profile Between Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder
Both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be disabling conditions, and both present clinically with significant mood and psychotic symptoms. These two illnesses also share genetic variants that might be involved in the predisposition to both disorders.
A new study sought to analyze the patterns of gene expression in the brains of individuals diagnosed with one of these disorders to search for a common "characteristic [genetic] signature."
Using microarray gene expression, Drs. Ling Shao and Marquis Vawter tested whether there was a core set of genes shared in the predisposition or long term consequences of both illnesses. The researchers found 78 dysregulated genes, representing genes involved in nervous system development and cell death, which displayed differential expression compared to control subjects.
As Dr. Vawter further explains, "the pattern of dysregulation was similar in the prefrontal cortex for both illnesses and pointed to key processes. Part of the set of core genes could be explained by medication responses; however most of these core genes did not appear to be correlated to medication response."
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
A new study sought to analyze the patterns of gene expression in the brains of individuals diagnosed with one of these disorders to search for a common "characteristic [genetic] signature."
Using microarray gene expression, Drs. Ling Shao and Marquis Vawter tested whether there was a core set of genes shared in the predisposition or long term consequences of both illnesses. The researchers found 78 dysregulated genes, representing genes involved in nervous system development and cell death, which displayed differential expression compared to control subjects.
As Dr. Vawter further explains, "the pattern of dysregulation was similar in the prefrontal cortex for both illnesses and pointed to key processes. Part of the set of core genes could be explained by medication responses; however most of these core genes did not appear to be correlated to medication response."
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Friday, March 28, 2008
Study Hints of Gene Link to Risk of Schizophrenia
A new study has found that rare and previously undetectable genetic variations may significantly increase the risk that a person will develop schizophrenia.
Experts said the study, while not identifying the cause of the disorder, provided a striking demonstration of how new gene-scanning technology can open a new frontier in the quest to understand the biology of mental disorders.
Until now, researchers had focused on finding common and known genetic variations that, when acting in some combination, might increase the risk for schizophrenia. They have had little success. The new analysis, being published Friday in the journal Science, detected extremely rare and unknown mutations that turned up three to four times as often in people with schizophrenia as in those without it.
The findings point scientists to previously unappreciated developmental problems that may help them develop more effective treatments, experts said.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Experts said the study, while not identifying the cause of the disorder, provided a striking demonstration of how new gene-scanning technology can open a new frontier in the quest to understand the biology of mental disorders.
Until now, researchers had focused on finding common and known genetic variations that, when acting in some combination, might increase the risk for schizophrenia. They have had little success. The new analysis, being published Friday in the journal Science, detected extremely rare and unknown mutations that turned up three to four times as often in people with schizophrenia as in those without it.
The findings point scientists to previously unappreciated developmental problems that may help them develop more effective treatments, experts said.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Friday, January 25, 2008
Genetic changes key in antidepressant drugs: study
Changes in a gene that protects the brain from foreign substances may affect whether commonly used antidepressants work -- and a simple test could help doctors prescribe the right drug, researchers said on Wednesday.
The findings could also help doctors adjust doses to make the drugs more effective while cutting down on harmful side effects, said Florian Holsboer, director of the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, who led the study.
"This is the first step into personalized antidepressant treatment according to genetic makeup," Holsboer said. "The gene test can help the clinician when he makes a choice for the antidepressant he gives to the patient."
Depression is a leading cause of suicide and affects about 121 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
READ MORE @ REUTERS
The findings could also help doctors adjust doses to make the drugs more effective while cutting down on harmful side effects, said Florian Holsboer, director of the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, who led the study.
"This is the first step into personalized antidepressant treatment according to genetic makeup," Holsboer said. "The gene test can help the clinician when he makes a choice for the antidepressant he gives to the patient."
Depression is a leading cause of suicide and affects about 121 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
READ MORE @ REUTERS
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Genetic variant predicts antipsychotic response for schizophrenia patients by ethnicity
Schizophrenia is a developmental disorder with a large genetic component contributing to increased risk. Available antipsychotic medications treat some of the symptoms of schizophrenia, but are typically effective in only a subset of patients. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict the effectiveness of a specific drug in any given individual with schizophrenia. John H. Krystal, M.D., Editor of Biological Psychiatry and affiliated with both Yale University School of Medicine and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, notes that “in this era of medicine, the selection of particular antipsychotic medications for particular patients with schizophrenia is more art than science. We have been seeking objective guides, perhaps biological tests, which would inform this process.” A new study published in the January 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry provides some interesting data to aid in that goal.
The authors report that differential effectiveness of antipsychotic treatment was predicted, in a subset of patients with schizophrenia, by variants of the gene encoding for the regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4), a protein that regulates the functional consequences of activating neurotransmitter receptors. Dr. Daniel Campbell, corresponding author for this article, explains these results: “By applying genetic analysis to the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness, we show that variants in a specific gene, RGS4, predict the effectiveness of different antipsychotic treatments. Our results also indicate that the predictive power of the RGS4 genetic variants differed between patients of self-reported African and European ancestry, and thus emphasize the importance of including multiple ethnic groups in a study.”
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
The authors report that differential effectiveness of antipsychotic treatment was predicted, in a subset of patients with schizophrenia, by variants of the gene encoding for the regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4), a protein that regulates the functional consequences of activating neurotransmitter receptors. Dr. Daniel Campbell, corresponding author for this article, explains these results: “By applying genetic analysis to the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness, we show that variants in a specific gene, RGS4, predict the effectiveness of different antipsychotic treatments. Our results also indicate that the predictive power of the RGS4 genetic variants differed between patients of self-reported African and European ancestry, and thus emphasize the importance of including multiple ethnic groups in a study.”
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Searching for Similar Diagnosis Through DNA
The girls had never met, but they looked like sisters.
There was no missing the similarities: the flat bridge of their noses, the thin lips, the fold near the corner of their eyes. And to the families of 14-year-old Samantha Napier and 4-year-old Taygen Lane there was something else, too. In the likeness was lurking an explanation for the learning difficulties, the digestion problems, the head-banging that had troubled each of them, for so long.
Several of the adults wiped tears from their eyes. “It’s like meeting family,” said Jessica Houk, Samantha’s older sister, who accompanied her and their mother to a Kentucky amusement park last July to greet Taygen.
But the two families are not related, and would never have met save for an unusual bond: a few months earlier, a newly available DNA test revealed that Samantha and Taygen share an identical nick in the short arm of their 16th chromosomes.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
There was no missing the similarities: the flat bridge of their noses, the thin lips, the fold near the corner of their eyes. And to the families of 14-year-old Samantha Napier and 4-year-old Taygen Lane there was something else, too. In the likeness was lurking an explanation for the learning difficulties, the digestion problems, the head-banging that had troubled each of them, for so long.
Several of the adults wiped tears from their eyes. “It’s like meeting family,” said Jessica Houk, Samantha’s older sister, who accompanied her and their mother to a Kentucky amusement park last July to greet Taygen.
But the two families are not related, and would never have met save for an unusual bond: a few months earlier, a newly available DNA test revealed that Samantha and Taygen share an identical nick in the short arm of their 16th chromosomes.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Possible Markers For Mental Illness Discovered
Researchers have discovered natural genetic differences that might help predict the most effective antipsychotic drugs for particular patients with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's and drug addiction.
They found the differences in the gene for a molecule called the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), a protein present on brain cells that are sensitive to the neurotransmitter dopamine.
The receptor is known to play a key role in memory and in a variety of mental illnesses. Most antipsychotic drugs work at least in part by blocking this protein, but scientists don't yet understand how this helps patients. Nor can they explain why some people respond well to certain antipsychotic drugs and others respond poorly.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
They found the differences in the gene for a molecule called the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), a protein present on brain cells that are sensitive to the neurotransmitter dopamine.
The receptor is known to play a key role in memory and in a variety of mental illnesses. Most antipsychotic drugs work at least in part by blocking this protein, but scientists don't yet understand how this helps patients. Nor can they explain why some people respond well to certain antipsychotic drugs and others respond poorly.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Monday, October 1, 2007
Drug Makers Seek Clues to Side Effects in Genes
Seven of the largest pharmaceutical companies have formed a group to develop genetic tests to determine which patients would be at risk from dangerous drug side effects.
The new group, the International Serious Adverse Events Consortium, is one of a wave of cooperative research efforts sweeping the drug industry, as companies come under pressure to cut costs and increase their success rates in developing medications. The Food and Drug Administration has encouraged the formation of such groups.
If drugs could be withheld from patients who have a genetic risk for serious side effects, it could not only protect the patients but might help manufacturers get their drugs approved or avoid having to remove them from the market.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
The new group, the International Serious Adverse Events Consortium, is one of a wave of cooperative research efforts sweeping the drug industry, as companies come under pressure to cut costs and increase their success rates in developing medications. The Food and Drug Administration has encouraged the formation of such groups.
If drugs could be withheld from patients who have a genetic risk for serious side effects, it could not only protect the patients but might help manufacturers get their drugs approved or avoid having to remove them from the market.
READ MORE @ NY TIMES
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Tailor-made Antidepressants?
....The most important consequence of research on interaction between genetic and environmental factors is that, in a foreseeable future, scientists will be able to produce measures to predict response to antidepressants taking into account each individual's genotype, i. e. they will be able to design tailor-made drugs according to each person's genetic configuration and their exposure to environmental factors....
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Success Or Failure Of Antidepressant Citalopram Predicted By Gene Variation
A variation in a gene called GRIK4 appears to make people with depression more likely to respond to the medication citalopram (Celexa) than are people without the variation, a study by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, has found.
The increased likelihood was small, but when people had both this variation and one in a different gene shown to have a similarly small effect in an earlier study, they were 23 percent more likely to respond to citalopram than were people with neither variation.
The finding addresses a key issue in mental health research: the differences in people's responses to antidepressant medications, thought to be based partly on differences in their genes. Some patients respond to the first antidepressant they attempt, but many don't. Each medication takes weeks to exert its full effects, and patients' depression may worsen while they search for a medication that helps. Genetic studies, such as the one described here, may lead to a better understanding of which treatments are likely to work for each patient.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
The increased likelihood was small, but when people had both this variation and one in a different gene shown to have a similarly small effect in an earlier study, they were 23 percent more likely to respond to citalopram than were people with neither variation.
The finding addresses a key issue in mental health research: the differences in people's responses to antidepressant medications, thought to be based partly on differences in their genes. Some patients respond to the first antidepressant they attempt, but many don't. Each medication takes weeks to exert its full effects, and patients' depression may worsen while they search for a medication that helps. Genetic studies, such as the one described here, may lead to a better understanding of which treatments are likely to work for each patient.
READ MORE @ SCIENCE DAILY
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
RCP: Healthy siblings of people with schizophrenia have problems recognising facial emotion
People with schizophrenia and their healthy siblings have problems recognising facial emotion in others, according to a new study.
Research suggests that schizophrenia has a substantial genetic component. Cognitive and social abilities, as well as the volumes of brain regions involved in emotion processing, such as the amygdala, have been found to vary along a continuum when people with schizophrenia, their siblings and controls are compared.
This study, published in the August 2007 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, set out to establish whether facial expression recognition is impaired in healthy siblings of people experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia.
READ MORE @ politics.co.uk
Research suggests that schizophrenia has a substantial genetic component. Cognitive and social abilities, as well as the volumes of brain regions involved in emotion processing, such as the amygdala, have been found to vary along a continuum when people with schizophrenia, their siblings and controls are compared.
This study, published in the August 2007 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, set out to establish whether facial expression recognition is impaired in healthy siblings of people experiencing their first episode of schizophrenia.
READ MORE @ politics.co.uk
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Genetic variations may predispose some men to suicidal thoughts
Genetic variations may help explain why some men with depression develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors after they begin taking antidepressant medications, while most do not, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
Although most patients with depression respond favorably to antidepressant medications, a very small subgroup may experience worse symptoms after beginning treatment, according to background information in the article.
“Regardless of treatment specificity, nearly all antidepressant medication studies find that some patients experience suicidality after treatment initiation,” the authors write. “Identification of this subpopulation before treatment would have tremendous clinical utility.”
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
Although most patients with depression respond favorably to antidepressant medications, a very small subgroup may experience worse symptoms after beginning treatment, according to background information in the article.
“Regardless of treatment specificity, nearly all antidepressant medication studies find that some patients experience suicidality after treatment initiation,” the authors write. “Identification of this subpopulation before treatment would have tremendous clinical utility.”
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
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