New Genetic Findings: Gifts Of The MAGI In Schizophrenia And Bipolar Disorder

These findings are not about the classic story of gift-giving, although the MAGI genes (officially named membrane associated guanylate kinase, WW and PDZ domain containing proteins) do influence brain function in important ways. MAGI1 and MAGI2 are genes that code for the MAGI proteins…

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Studying The Genetic Causes Of Bipolar Disorder Could Lead To New Treatments

Researchers at the University of Leeds investigating the genetic causes of bipolar disorder have identified two new drugs = one of which has already been found safe in clinical trials – that may be effective in treating the disorder. Bipolar disorder is characterised by mood swings between mania and depression…

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Broadening Bipolar Disorder Criteria Could Do More Harm Than Good For Patients

A Rhode Island Hospital psychiatrist and researcher explains the negative impact of broadening the diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder in the upcoming Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). In a newly published commentary in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Mark Zimmerman, M.D…

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High Blood Pressure May Lead To Missed Emotional Cues

Your ability to recognize emotional content in faces and texts is linked to your blood pressure, according to a Clemson University researcher. A recently published study by Clemson University psychology professor James A. McCubbin and colleagues has shown that people with higher blood pressure have reduced ability to recognize angry, fearful, sad and happy faces and text passages…

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Drug Development Process Could Be Simplified By Chemical Breakthrough

A new chemical process developed by a team of Harvard researchers greatly increases the utility of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in creating real-time 3-D images of chemical process occurring inside the human body…

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Circadian Rhythm May Hold Key For Treatment Of Bipolar Disorder

Scientists have gained insight into why lithium salts are effective at treating bipolar disorder in what could lead to more targeted therapies with fewer side-effects. Bipolar disorder is characterised by alternating states of elevated mood, or mania, and depression. It affects between 1% and 3% of the general population…

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2nd Generation Anti-Psychotic Drugs Publication Bias

According to a study published in PLoS Medicine, trials of second-generation anti-psychotic drugs, i.e. newer forms of medications for the treatment of psychotic illnesses like schizophrenia, that have been published in medical journals, may embellish their apparent clinical effectiveness. This selective reporting of trials is a phenomenon called publication bias…

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Impulsive Behavior Regulated By Cannabinoid 2 Receptors

A new study lead by the Neuroscience Institute of Alicante reveals how manipulating the endocannabinoid system can modulate high levels of impulsivity. This is the main problem in psychiatric illnesses such a schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and substance abuse…

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Diagnosis Of Bipolar Disorder Improved By Specific Criteria

Use of criteria such as family history of mania and early onset of illness resulted in the diagnosis of 31 percent more cases of bipolar disorder in individuals experiencing a major depressive episode, according to results of a large international study reported this year. Charles L. Bowden, M.D…

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Link Between PCE In Drinking Water And An Increased Risk Of Mental Illness

PCE in drinking water linked to an increased risk of mental illness The solvent tetrachloroethylene (PCE) widely used in industry and to dry clean clothes is a neurotoxin known to cause mood changes, anxiety, and depression in people who work with it…

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