Scientists comment on the FDA approving Cobenfy (KarXT) for schizophrenia.    Prof Oliver Howes, Professor of Molecular Psychiatry, Institute of … read more

A study published in JAMA Psychiatry looks at cannabis use disorder in schizophrenia in Denmark.   Prof Terrie Moffitt, Chair … read more

A study as published in JAMA Psychiatry looks at Psychiatric Disorders and mortality among COVID-19 patients.   Prof James MacCabe, … read more

Research, published in JAMA Network Open, reports that risk of developing schizophrenia may be heightened by childhood exposure to air … read more

Research published in Molecular Psychiatry that identifies immune cells in greater amounts in the brains of some people with schitozophrenia. read more

A man who drove a car along three blocks of pavement in New York’s Times Square, killing a teenager and injuring 22 people, said he had “heard voices”, according to law enforcement sources. read more

Publishing in JAMA Psychiatry researchers report that gestational weight gain (GWG) was associated with an increased risk for nonaffective psychosis in offspring. read more

A study published in the journal Nature has reported an association between varying levels of protein brought about by different forms of a specific gene and schizophrenia in humans. The authors suggest that higher levels of the protein might lead to a number of connections between nerve cells, which is characteristic of individuals with schizophrenia read more

Scientists studying schizophrenia have published their work in the American Journal of Psychiatry which looks at the activity of immune cells in the brain (microglia). They report that activity of these cells was higher in patients with or at risk of schizophrenia, and suggest that inflammation may be a factor in such disorders. read more

People with schizophrenia are more likely to be cigarette smokers. The hotly-debated question is why this might be. Suggested explanations include self-medication, counteracting symptoms, and reducing boredom or distress. Until recently, little attention has been paid towards the possibility that cigarettes themselves may increase the risk of psychosis. Researchers have used a meta-analysis to assess whether daily tobacco use, or starting smoking at an earlier age, is associated with an increased risk of psychotic illnesses. read more

It has previously been observed that sufferers of schizophrenia are more likely to be smokers, though mechanisms for this association have been lacking. This is the subject of a paper published in The Lancet Psychiatry, in which the authors report that daily tobacco use is associated with an increased risk of psychosis and an earlier age of onset. read more

Attempting to uncover the cause of schizophrenia, scientists publishing in the journal Neuron have reported that disrupted chemical signalling is a cause rather than an effect of the disease, and suggest that this may be in part due to specific genetic mutations. read more

A paper published in the journal PNAS has reported their findings that the pattern of brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease is similar, though the former usually develops earlier in life, and the latter is associated with ageing. read more

Researchers have reported a link between birth size and two mental health conditions: low birth weight correlated positively with schizophrenia and negatively with autism, while the opposite was true with high birth weight. The study, reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B looked at a large cohort, but saw small changes in absolute risk. read more

Results of the largest genome-wide association study of schizophrenia ever conducted were published in Nature this week, identifying more than 100 genetic variants associated with the condition. read more

Treatments for mental health have had a bumpy ride. Many people do not trust the drugs, whilst the evidence for non-pharmaceutical therapies can be very varied. Publishing in The Lancet, UK researchers have investigated whether Cognitive Therapy (also known as CBT) is a viable alternative therapy. read more

Publishing in The Lancet, UK researchers have investigated whether Cognitive Therapy is a viable alternative to pharmaceutical therapies for schizophrenia. read more

The man accused of being a fake sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service says he suffered a schizophrenic episode during the service and was hearing voices in his head. read more

Ahead of a talk in London, a press release was sent out regarding research to be presented for the first time by Dr Malav Trivedi which proposed links between the A1 protein common in cows’ milk and exacerbated symptoms of disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. read more

Schizophrenia affects over 220,000 people in England and an estimated 1 in 6 people will experience some symptoms of psychosis at some stage in their lives. read more