A new study has suggested that it may be possible to develop blood tests for suicide by identifying biomarkers in the blood. Although it has its limitations, the study is an important step towards a more…
Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression share common genetic variations, a new study has found.
Micah Baldwin
Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression share common genetic variations, a new study has found, with researchers saying they can now calculate how much of the risk for developing such disorders…
To assess the risk of a schizophrenic attack, we try to work out the risk of a rare event in a bunch of people with a mixed bag of symptoms.
Flickr/daniellehelm
A violent attack by someone who is mentally ill quickly grabs the headlines. And it’s usually implied that mental illnesses are a preventable cause of violent crime. Tackle that and we can all sleep safer…
Psychiatric diagnosis relies on identifying a patient’s signs and symptoms rather than clinical tests.
PA/Ben Birchall
Traditional psychiatry uses the approaches of medicine to try to understand mental health problems and guide treatment. This means relying on diagnosis – identifying what are believed to be mental illnesses…
By suggesting that everyone who has a mental illness could possibly be violent, the articles isolate, highlight and stigmatise them.
Михал Орела/Flickr
Just when we thought we were heading for a more tolerant and accepting attitude toward people afflicted by mental illness, a feature and a news article in Saturday’s The Australian quoting leaders in the…
A person with schizophrenia can experience bouts of disordered thinking that can distort their sense of reality, according to the Department of Health.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/methad/
Testosterone may trigger a brain chemical process linked to schizophrenia but the same sex hormone can also improve cognitive thinking skills in men with the disorder, two new studies show. Scientists…
People with schizophrenia are still perceived as dangerous and unpredictable, and these perceptions have increased in recent years.
JD Hancock
Stigma can take a heavy toll on people who suffer from mental illness. Being shunned, feared, devalued and discriminated against can impair recovery and deepen social isolation and distress. Many sufferers…
New research could help reclassify common psychiatric disorders that are related to the brain.
AAP
Scientists have linked common genetic markers with major psychiatric disorders including autism and schizophrenia, in the largest ever genetic study of psychiatric illness. The study findings, published…
We all know about the reproductive “biological clock” in women reminding them of the finite time in which they can have children. Now researchers have found evidence that men also have a reproductive “best…
The symptom-based approach of the current DSM does not take life events into account.
Woman image from shutterstock.com
Welcome to Matters of the Mind, a series which examines the clinician’s bible for diagnosing mental disorders, the DSM, and the controversy surrounding the forthcoming fifth edition. You’re feeling down…
A new approach to understanding the genes involved in schizophrenia is an important step towards individual risk prediction.
Alaina Abplanalp
Schizophrenia is a complex and potentially disabling disorder affecting about 1% of the population. Its precise cause, though known to involve both genetic vulnerability and environmental stress, remains…
Reading oversimplified science stories is stressful business.
Michael Clesle
There’s this gene that about half of all people carry. It’s a pretty nasty gene – it massively increases the risk of the carrier being a murderer or a murder victim, going to jail or dying in an accident…
A quarter of the risk for developing schizophrenia can be traced to genetic variations that are common in the general population, a study by Queensland researchers has found. A new method of genetic analysis…
Researchers at the University of Cardiff have discovered some of the genetic underpinnings of schizophrenia. DNA from 650…
Knowing of a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia could help a person avoid environmental risk factors that aggravate it.
Flickr/notsogoodphotography
One of the world’s largest schizophrenia studies ever has pinpointed five new genetic blips linked to the condition, paving the way for new drugs and management strategies, researchers said. Schizophrenia…