Schizophrenia News

Multivariate analyses using nonimaging and neuroimaging delivered a more accurate characterization of the link between brain variations and psychosis, demonstrating that general intelligence, BMI, positive psychotic symptoms, substance use and antipsychotic medication contributed to differences in brain structure and function, according to study findings.

Study findings published in JAMA Psychiatry indicated that the incidence of breast cancer was higher among women with schizophrenia than the incidence among the general female population.

Elevated dopamine levels could exacerbate auditory hallucinations among patients with schizophrenia, according to researchers.

In November 2017, the FDA approved Abilify MyCite, aripiprazole tablets with an ingestible sensor that digitally tracks whether patients have taken their medication, for the treatment of schizophrenia, manic and mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder and as an add-on treatment for depression.

Longer duration of untreated psychosis was associated with accelerated hippocampal atrophy during initial antipsychotic treatment of first-episode schizophrenia, suggesting that psychosis may have persistent, negative effects on brain structure, according to finding published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Results from a network analysis showed that functional capacity and everyday life skills were the most central and highly interconnected variables in patients with schizophrenia, indicating that improving the ability to perform everyday tasks is critical to treating these patients.

Research published in JAMA Psychiatry demonstrated that exposure to infections during the first year of life was associated with lower IQ and higher risk for nonaffective psychosis in adulthood.

Longitudinal study findings indicated that individuals involved in sibling bullying during childhood were up to three times more likely to develop psychotic disorders in early adulthood than those not involved in bullying.

Research findings indicate that adjunctive sodium benzoate, a common food preservative, improved symptoms in patients with clozapine-resistant schizophrenia who did not see results with any other medications.

Adding virtual reality-based cognitive behavioral therapy to regular treatment can help ease paranoid thoughts and anxiety in patients with psychotic disorders, according to findings published in The Lancet Psychiatry.