Information and opinions on SchizophreniaConnection from Jerry Kennard http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674 en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/ http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/27923/schizophrenia Thu May 15 06:55:00 -0400 2008 Jerry Kennard One of the most notable features of schizophrenia is lack of motivation. To date there has been little information available to determine why. In part, motivational problems are commonly viewed as secondary to long-term treatment effects, or the product of institutionalisation.   Recent research involving the use of a simple reaction time experiment, suggests that variations in the dopamine function of the brain holds the key to both an... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/27923/schizophrenia http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/26998/schizophrenic Mon May 05 11:41:00 -0400 2008 Jerry Kennard   Schizophrenic mothers and fathers are twice as likely to have a child diagnosed with autism. These are the findings from a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics. Study author Julie Daniels, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, pointed to, "a mental illness trend in families."   It has been known for some time that families with a history of psychosis have a much increased likelihood... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/26998/schizophrenic http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/23791/higher Tue Apr 01 11:10:00 -0400 2008 Jerry Kennard Hardly a week goes by that doesn’t involve yet another genetic discovery that could help solve the puzzle of schizophrenia and in so doing offer the chance for a cure or more effective treatments. There’s nothing wrong with this and I guess some news is better than no news, but I do wonder what it must feel like to be a person with schizophrenia, waiting for the day when all of this will amount to something.   Every so often... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/23791/higher http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/22212/blame-ideas Thu Mar 20 13:54:00 -0400 2008 Jerry Kennard The interplay between nature and nurture is a recurring theme in the debate over the development of schizophrenia or its relapse. The evidence for a genetic component to schizophrenia is strong, but environmental factors have always been considered as having a powerful role to play. In this posting I’ve mapped out some of the influential ideas to have shaped our ideas about the role the social environment in relation to schizophrenia. ... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/22212/blame-ideas http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/21093/gene-linked Tue Mar 04 09:46:00 -0500 2008 Jerry Kennard A new genetic link to schizophrenia has been identified by an international team of researchers. Multiple epidermal growth factor-like domains 10 or MEGF10, which influences the development of skin cells, may appear a curious contender in the quest for a genetic explanation for schizophrenia, but this is exactly what recent research has found. Lead author of the study, Xiangning Chen, regards the gene as, “likely [to be] involved in... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/21093/gene-linked http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/20525/link-women Mon Feb 18 10:51:00 -0500 2008 Jerry Kennard A genetic variant in a gene called reelin has been identified as a significant risk factor for developing schizophrenia, but only in women. A research team led by Sagiv Shifman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Oxford, conducted their investigation in the Askenazi Jewish population and confirmed findings by establishing a multinational collaboration that included Irish, British, American and Chinese... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/20525/link-women http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/20492/smoking Sun Feb 17 09:43:00 -0500 2008 Jerry Kennard The relationship between schizophrenia and smoking is both interesting and complex. In schizophrenia, the very high rates of smoking could point to a form of self-medication that actually seems to improve attention and short-term memory. Yet other forms of smoking, notably cannabis and marijuana, are implicated in the onset of psychosis.   Smoking, as everyone knows, is bad for health. Yet people with schizophrenia frequently smoke up... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/20492/smoking http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/18918/test-teens Wed Jan 09 09:58:00 -0500 2008 Jerry Kennard In one of the biggest studies of its kind, researchers have established a way to more accurately predict the onset of psychosis in high risk teenagers. The study, led by a team from UCLA and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), involved 291 young people considered to be at risk for developing psychosis. The findings, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, point to a feasible level of predictive accuracy in up to 80 per cent... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/18918/test-teens http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/18178/ill-parents Sat Dec 22 08:36:00 -0500 2007 Jerry Kennard Long-term mental illness does not necessarily equate with poor parenting or neglect, but it may mean that the capacity to provide care is compromised because of the nature and course of the illness. For example, long periods away from home because of hospital treatment may make care unpredictable, which could lead to attachment issues and behavioral problems in children. A parent with schizophrenia may have problems in expressing warmth to... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/18178/ill-parents http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/17705/concept Wed Dec 12 09:59:00 -0500 2007 Jerry Kennard One of the puzzling things about medicine is the language used and I don't just mean the technical stuff. For example, a positive result in medicine often means that there is something wrong whereas a negative result means you're o.k. - or does it?  When it comes to considering positive and negative symptoms in schizophrenia, the meanings do change somewhat. In this context, ‘positive' actually refers to symptoms in... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/17705/concept