Cause of schizophrenia identified

[canetoad]

Source: The Age (Melbourne)

Cause of schizophrenia identified

* Carmel Egan
* May 17, 2009

IN A world first that could bring hope to thousands of schizophrenics, Melbourne scientists have discovered that a form of the disease is linked to a lack of certain proteins in the brain's lining.

The discovery that one in four schizophrenics has the defect could lead to better treatments and earlier diagnosis of the condition.

The breakthrough, by scientists from the Mental Research Health Institute in Parkville, is being compared to the discovery that type 1 and type 2 diabetes were separate diseases requiring different treatments.

"The same will now be true for schizophrenia, a syndrome that affects one in 100 people," said Professor Brian Dean, head of a 10-member team that has spent 15 years searching for the cause of the illness.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/cause-of-schizophrenia-identified-20090516-b6tb.html

[sasquatch]

1. OMG this is awesome

:applause:

[jkappy]

49. i thot being an "american" caused schizophrenia

and that all americans were schizoid

[TerribleLarryDingle]

68. Spell check?

[ooglymoogly]

72. Thot is common sense shorthand for thought in all its absurd spelling.

Pronunciation; thoug-(h)-t

[MrModerate]

75. Commonsense spelling in English?

Shurly u jest!

[POAS]

76. That was my thawt.

[ooglymoogly]

102. Ha! you have missed the point....W is an extraneous letter

that in (Know) way helps in the pronunciation. Thot is totally adequate to get the job done saving billions of dollars.

[POAS]

113. I wsnt aware we had a pt. n/t

[ooglymoogly]

119. The point I guess was just humor.

A smile and snicker cant hurt anyone.

[POAS]

120. pt tkn

:+

[sofa king]

122. Ahem. Where are the King Crimson jokes?

Alright, then. Here's one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWS3ofzuiMU

[ooglymoogly]

123. Forever enshrined in dream theater; In the cacophonous

halls of schizophrenia; Where its echo is louder than its sound.

[ooglymoogly]

106. I assume you mean you . nt

[MADem]

2. Finding the cause is the key to finding the cure! About time!

It's only a quarter of the cases, but it's a start:

"But we have shown that 25 per cent of people who have schizophrenia have lost 80 per cent of a protein in their brain known as muscarinic M1 receptor.

"We have now separated off that group and we can try to understand the cause of that deficiency."

The area of the brain most affected is the cortex, or surface, that is vital for rational thought, logic, long-term memory, learning speed and problem solving.

Professor Dean and his team examined brain tissue from 154 deceased people.

The scientists cut very thin sections (14 thousands of a millimetre thick) of the brain tissue to measure the levels of the muscarinic M1 receptor using a radioactive drug that binds to the receptor.

The next phase of the research will involve working with Professor Christos Pantelis and his team at the University of Melbourne to use neuro-imaging to identify living people with this form of schizophrenia.

[tomm2thumbs]

3. truly a miracle - if you have visited a mental care facility it can be so distressing

families affected will be so happy - I'm sure

[DWilliamsamh]

17. Truely science.

15 years or research is what lead to this. Miracles have nothing to do with it. This was the product of hard work and science. Thank the FSM for scientists.

[lunatica]

67. To some the terms science and miracle are interchangeable

But I agree that in time all miracles will be explained through science. Yet I think the term miracle gives things somewhat of a unique description.

[Zhade]

82. People who don't understand that the former is real and the latter wishful thinking, sure.

NT!

[DWilliamsamh]

84. OK... (N/T)

[LanternWaste]

103. If this particular bit of science exceeded expectations...

If this particular bit of science exceeded expectations, at least one of the definitions of the word 'miracle' allows for a rather appropriate descriptor.

[f the letter]

77. Ramen! n/t

[AlbertCat]

91. Wait... I thought science was just like a religion...

Y'know, just a "belief system"... whatever that is.

[ArbustoBuster]

98. Let us turn to the Book of Einstein

Chapter 3.14159, Verse 2.71828183.

Lo, for in those days were electrons, which didst circle the nucleus like sex-maddened bees. Photons, which miraculously were both particle and wave, did strike those electrons and free them from bondage to the positive charge of the nucleus. Sing hallelujah for the freeing of the electrons!

(http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/quantumzone/photoelectric.html)

[Zhade]

81. This has nothing to do with superstition, and everything to do with actual science.

NT!

[LanternWaste]

104. Then the following are not applicable in this case...?

Then the following are not applicable in this case...?

a wonder; marvel.
a wonderful or surpassing example of some quality: "a miracle of modern acoustics."

(two of many valid definitions of the word miracle.)

[Zhade]

118. Fair enough.

NT!

[Forkboy]

4. Having witnessed it first hand, this is awesome to see.

[Posteritatis]

5. Thoroughly, indescribably great (nt)

[Mizmoon]

6. Title is way misleading

The article says that the scientist studied 154 cadavers and he thinks the protein deficiency is linked to one form of schizophrenia.

In the text itself it says, "This significant step forward is helping us unravel the potential causes so that we are able to develop better treatments." They think they are closer to finding the cause.

As a medical historian I can tell you they have sung this song before. I'll believe it when they cart out a cured schizophrenic.

[clear eye]

9. That's what I think, too

See my comment below. I was writing it while you posted yours. Guy's desperate for more grant money, but science reporters should be able to spot exaggeration when they hear it, and report more responsibly. This really sets up the families for a brutal disappointment. I mean, science reporting can't just be like the National Enquirer and say "Well, I have someone on record saying they saw 3-headed aliens, so when we write 'Three-Headed Aliens Spotted', we're being accurate." They should really have gotten independent verification that the finding could accurately be termed a "cause", and not a "symptom". In fact the line you quoted, that it "is helping us unravel the potential causes" directly contradicts their headline. Irresponsible and cruel.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

33. aww, c'mon. Cut Dean some slack!

Grant review boaards don't look to the lay press to prioritize research funding. It's the newsies that are clamoring for cash. His article was adequately qualified and cautious. See link below.

[alcibiades_mystery]

38. It's dubious to say the least

The notion that schizophrenia is an affect of purely chemical action in the body is reductionist in the extreme, and dangerous.

[RaleighNCDUer]

101. Why do you say that?

You think it's maybe a virus?

[Mosby]

105. Studies with twins

Studies with MZ and DZ twins have shown that there is an environmental component to schizophrenia.

[RaleighNCDUer]

108. Wouldn't that indicate an environmental trigger to chemical

actions (or reactions) in the body?

Or were you saying that they were saying it is a genetic problem (which I didn't see in the article)?

Basically it all comes down to one of two causes - genetic or environmental. The article talks about a symptom and does not ascribe it to either cause, unless I missed it.

[Mosby]

111. The headline for the article is wrong

What these researchers have found is a possible screening tool to diagnose schizophrenia, which is often misdiagnosed as some other disorder like Borderline Personality eg.

Regarding the etiology of schizophrenia, the twin studies showed that there is a genetic component to the illness, but that there also must be some sort of environmental variable as well. Among the MZ twins, only 65-70% were both afflicted with schizophrenia, instead of the expected 100%. With DZ twins, the number drops to 30% instead of the expected 50%. So clearly there is something else at work than just genetics.

[defendandprotect]

115. Just want to compliment those questioning . . .

I have no medical background, however, I don't doubt that one day they will assign
a genetic cause for poverty!

What we have to understand is that many among us have vulnerabilities which allow those
individuals to be seen as the "canaries in the coal mine" -- warning us of behavior which
is harmful.

For instance, Spina Bifida/neural cord disorders have now been connected to a lack of folate
in the female diet -- folic acid in its synthetic form. In other words, many females have
not been getting sufficient fresh/raw fruits and vegetables.

Upon discovery of this information did the FDA alert America? NO!
They had to be sued by Physicians for Responsible Medicine to get them to do anything and
two years later they added folic acid to flour.
"Down's Syndrome" is also connected to a lack of folic acid - not in as large a part, but 10%.

What overall effect is an American diet largely filled with non-organic food having on our
skeletons and nervous systems?

Coming back to the subject, the BRAIN is the first organ to be effected as it is the most
sensistive of all body parts.

I'd also comment that Nazi concentration camp Josef Mengele ....


German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Mengele took an interest in physical abnormalities discovered among the arrivals at the concentration camp.

At Auschwitz, Mengele did a number of twin studies. After the experiment was over, these twins were usually murdered and their bodies dissected. He supervised an operation by which two Gypsy children were sewn together to create conjoined twins; the hands of the children became badly infected where the veins had been resected, this also caused gangrene.<3>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele

These were cruel and brutal "studies" done on many children in the camps.
Few survived his experiments.

The Nazi genetic studies were supposedly not taken up by Americans at the end of the war.
But we did find later, that, in fact, they were.

[alcibiades_mystery]

112. No, I think it is a diagnosis that only makes sense within

particular social configurations.

[Hekate]

7. This almost makes me cry it's so stupendous. What a wonderful, wonderful discovery.

[clear eye]

8. Reading this story is an emotional rollercoaster

If you've ever known or even heard the story of a schizophrenic, which usually strikes college-age people, you know how tragic it is for a promising young person just embarking on life's adventures, usually a decent human being often beginning a serious romance or just married, to suddenly have their perceptions and personality spin out of control, and their mental abilites gradually deteriorate.

But the headline promised so much, claiming to know the "cause", and when you read the story you find that they have just identified another symptom--loss of muscarinic M1 receptors--and only in 1/4 of those stricken. They don't actually know whether this is due to an auto-immune condition, or a genetic defect, or if it's even a side-effect of the very toxic medications necessary to treat these people.

It would be wonderful if this really turns out to be usable info, but it also could be a case of a dedicated researcher exaggerating the meaning of his findings to obtain additional needed funds. Let's see what the rest of the scientific community makes of this in the next few months.

[FloridaJudy]

10. What you said

Too many other "promising discoveries" haven't panned out. This would be wonderful if true, but I'm not celebrating yet.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LeftishBrit]

11. It could be the researcher exaggerating; or the press doing so; or both

The cause has not been found - only some important clues. But I hope this will really lead to better treatment for the disorder.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

29. exactly. see link below

[newinnm]

55. My mother was a schizophrenic

I can tell you that it is a debilitating disease. As a child I saw my mom's illness steal her away from me and the rest of my family and eventually she just gave up and died. I hope that this helps in the fight against this hideous malady.


-nnnm

[Mizmoon]

59. I agree wholeheartedly

I have studied the history of "treatments" for the illness and it's always scary to me when a scientist stands up and declares that cutting edge technology has resulted in a breakthrough. In the past this has resulted in insulin shock, electroshock, psychosurgery, freezing baths, and other abuses and brutalities. Google Henry Cotton to find one doctor who liked to pull out all of his patient's teeth to root out "the infection". If that didn't work, he starting pulling out body parts. No kidding.

While I wish for a breakthrough just as you do, I am understandibly cynical.

[defendandprotect]

116. "Murder On The Courch" was an excellent reminder of those atrocities by our medical community!!!

I think the author was Dentz . . . ???

About ten years ago --

Also keep in mind that Freud's "talking therapy" was originally based on

hypnotizing the patient -- and since many patients can't be hypnotized -- those

trying to follow/use Freud's method were quitting in frustration.

Freud then changed the method to "talking."

Today, as I understand it, there is even less "talk" and mostly pill dispensing?

[Hansel]

90. I am so sorry.

What a horrible experience for a child. For anyone. Although I can't imagine what you have gone through, I can relate to what you mean by the illness "stealing her away" from you and your family.

I had a close friend who after the tragic death of her 1 year old child and then her husband's violent suicide as a result of his grief, was stolen from her family and friends by this horrendous illness. It was as if she had died and someone else had possessed her body. After 25 years of struggle, she drowned herself. Her family never got her back, not even for a brief moment.

It is good to know that there is hope so that maybe someday they can cure, as you so aptly describe it, "this hideous malady" and others will have their afflicted loved ones return whole. We will see.

[Posteritatis]

62. This story's a definite example of Why We Have Articles In English

The difference between "the cause of schizophrenia" and "a cause of schizophrenia" is pretty big, and the headline suggests the former.

The latter is still, as I said upthread, extremely awesome, but this probably did jerk too many people around. I could deal with news headlines going back to older standards where they didn't act like every syllable was printed in platinum ink.

Also, give the researcher(s) the benefit of the doubt; presumably they didn't have much of a hand, if any, in the article, and announced their findings in a more specific way.

[RaleighNCDUer]

109. It's rather like finding "the cure for cancer" that everyone was looking

for a couple decades ago - before they realized that there are dozens of cures for dozens of cancers, and there is no single 'cure for cancer'.

As we come to understand it better, we may find there are any number of cures for many aspects of the disease - and this may be very important for one aspect.

I suspect that if schizophrenia does, as the article said, strike one in a hundred people (which is a HUGE number affected) that there are many variants caused by different triggers - that it is not one disease, but many as yet undifferentiated diseases.

[PufPuf23]

121. Also could be an indicator or side effect of some forms nt.

[old mark]

13. I worked for years with many people with schizophrenia.

I am glad there is investigation such as this, and I hope they are looking in the right direction.
I knew many people who believe the disease to be punishment from god for some wrongdoing on the part of the person afflicted or the parents, and I note this research is happening in Austrailia, not in the - till now - anti-science RW "religious" US. I hope they really are finding answers, and I wonder how many times answers to similar terrible illnesses could have been found here given a civilized administration rather than that of the Republican barberians.


mark

[Aragorn]

19. Australia

also pioneered the use of lithium, which the US is still way behind in.

The scientists did not write this headline.

Living people do not donate brain tissue.

This is significant, do not knock it too quickly. It is consistent with known action of medications and other data in this condition.

There are still medical professionals who think schizophrenia is a psychoanalytic issue, which may be lucrative - but not helpful.

BTW if the word "One" or even "A" had been left at the start of this headline it would be more accurate. I suspect that as the reason for the "misleading" headline. Sloppy editing - too abbreviated - is common where newspaper headlines are set. We often do the same online.

[LeftishBrit]

Good points - I've seen enough press oversimplification of scientific research...

to suspect that the problems are with the reporting rather than the research team.

There is lots of evidence that schizophrenia is a neurological illness with a strong genetic component (50% concordance in identical twins); and that many patients respond well to treatments that are aimed at adjusting dopamine balance in the brain. But some don't respond so well, and many experience negative side effects. This sort of research may help to discover why patients differ so much, and also ways of treating the disorder more effectively and with fewer side effects.

[tomp]

25. ah yes, denounce the psychoanalytic theory without proof otherwise.

the article adds nothing to our knowledge of the cause of schizophrenia.

[AngryAmish]

31. Psychoanalysis is non-falsifiable

Thus making it a religion, not science.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

36. Emotional pain is non-falsifiable as well

If someone gets relief from a treatment (even a placebo like religion), who cares whether it's science or not?

Snuggles,
A Scientist

[KittyWampus]

37. is String Theory religion? No, it's not. Your Reductionist bias is showing.

[AngryAmish]

41. There are very strong arguments that string theory is religious in nature

Again, for something to be considered science it must be falsifiable. In many aspects we can't experiement on string theory and so we can't consider it science.

Someone wrote a book on this very subject called "Not Even Wrong" (I think, I only read reviews).

[EFerrari]

45. Psychoanalysis has still contributed more to our understanding

of the experience of mental illness than any other approach or discipline. And DW Winnicott was getting results with autistic children in like the forties when no one else would even work with them.

[Turbineguy]

14. And just when I'm really

wondering about DU, a post like this comes along to remind me why I signed up.

[No Elephants]

15. For a long time, people have been speaking of a "mind body" connection , by which they tend to mean

that your mind makes your body sick. For longer than that, I have been saying that I believe that way of thinking (did it start with Freud?) has retarded research into the opposite proposition, namely that the body may be making the mind/emotions, etc. sick.

I agree with those who posted that the headline is way overblown. However, I have been happy in recent years to note the physical direction research into mental and emotional disorders has been taking. Just imagine if they find a protein or some such that causes depression, bipolor disorder, ADD, etc.

[tomp]

73. it is beyond question: it is a two-way street.

but the mind causing a problem in the body is a real problem in the range of about $250 billion dollars year in medical costs.

[defendandprotect]

117. Agree, the brain is the most sensistive organ in the body . . .

Obviously, there is some sort of a chemical imbalance.

And we have much to examine in the way of pollution and nutrition which affects

the body/brain.

How many of us don't have compromised immune systems?

[robcon]

16. This is nearly nothing.

It's like finding the plaques in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's.

Finding an association is nice, but almost useless. What they've found, most likely, is that the same thing that may cause schizophrenia in a minority of patients may cause a cause a lack of proteins in the brain's lining in those patients.

It's a scientific finding, not a medical one, IMO.

[stray cat]

23. Right. A correlation with 25% of cases that could be cause or effect

we need a populist better schooled in logic and science - this is potentially a scientific paper if the study was done accurately - and others may investigate it as a possible cause versus an effect.

[mdmc]

18. does anybody know what the "muscarinic M1 receptor" does for the brain?

I've always had a theory that all humans have a filter that allows them to sort out and prioritize information. Schizophrenics simply lacked an effective filter.

I wonder if these muscarinic M1 receptors are responsible for sorting information.

[rasputin1952]

34. There are a host of functions as well as M1-5 receptors that deal

w/a different aspects of bodily functions, including asthma, diabetes mellitus, dementia, Down's syndrome, pain perception and management, etc.

It is not surprising, at least to me, that at least .25% of schizophrenics are affects by chemical imbalances. Acetylcholine is one of the chemicals that is cited...and apparently, there is a cross-over to ATP production.

Most of the articles have a serious technical aspect...but this appears to be a long awaited breakthrough.

There will be clinical testing for quite some time, but if it pans out, there will be relief for many, and that is a great prospect.

[kickysnana]

39. Gazzaley has set out to prove that the brain does not lose its ability to remember as it ages but ..

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/24-looking-at-stress-and-god-in-man.s-brain

Through his research, Gazzaley has set out to prove that the brain does not lose its ability to remember as it ages but rather loses its ability to filter out unwanted memories; in a sense it remembers too much. He is demonstrating that the frontal lobe—the rational and decision-making part of the brain—has a major influence on what is retained by the hippocampus and the brain’s other emotional centers. Neuroscientists call this function “top-down modulation,” a process by which the frontal lobe guides both what people recall and what they do not want or need to burn into their memory cells. The brain does the same thing with hearing. Young ears (and brains) can easily discern the voice of a friend sitting across a table in a noisy bar; as ears and brains age, they are less able to pick out the friend’s voice from the barrage of other sounds. “We think it’s a filtering problem,” Gazzaley says.

[RC]

64. Filtering? Yeah, kinda.

As we age, because of our noisy civilization, we lose the ability to hear the higher frequencies that we need to discern where sounds are coming from. I wear hearing aids in both ears that prop up my hearing to 8kz and have trouble sometimes telling where something is coming from. It is even worse without them.
The lower the frequency are, the more non directional they become.

[1776Forever]

20. Wonderful news. Comes to late for those who killed themselves over this but hope for the future!

I had a step-daughter-in-law with this disease who killed herself and her 5 year-old because of fears of someone chasing her. We had very little contact with her because she moved away and she never told us where she had moved until we were called by the police saying she had done this. I had tried to get her care but Florida doesn't allow rights for Grandparents so she was lost to her own madness. By the way another family member of hers had done this in the past.

Thank you for the post! It give us hope that those who are tormented with the terrible problem will get the care they need in a timely manner! As we know it isn't only the person with the disease that suffers from the non-care of it but the entire circle of friends and family that have to live through the tragedy.

:grouphug:

[Colobo]

21. There is hope for my auntie then... thanks to science!

[eagertolearn]

47. My aunt died from this disease in her 30's drinking drane-o to cure her

"illegal throat disease". My kids are in high school and I am so afraid one of them will have this or bi-polar disease which is also big in our family. The scary part of both these diseases is they are not usually apparent until they are on their own in late teens and early 20's. My first is going off to college next year. I have educated my kids about this since they were young and I really hope this research pans out.

[stray cat]

22. A correlation found in 25% of schizophrenics - could be cause or effect -

nothing to celebrate but one more avenue to investigate so thats a good thing. However, this is certainly not the first correlation with a subset of schizophrenics.

[tomp]

24. correlation does not equal cause.

just because this protein deficiency appears does not mean it is the cause of schizophrenia or a type of it. the protein deficiency could be a RESULT of schizophrenia.

it is so typical of biopsychiatry to inflate its findings.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

30. what are you, a scientologist?

Read the article. The idiot lay press exaggerated the result.

[tomp]

74. watch it with the insults, ok.

i read the article, and the press may have exaggerated the findings of the scientists. i still maintain that biopsychiatry exaggerates, if not outright falsifies its findings. see breggin on the genetic (not) basis of schizophrenia. see the many improper connections between biopsychiatry and the pharmaceutical companies.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

86. Flea bites and clay tables

When you lay down with dogs, don't be surprised by flea bites. Breggin is a scientologist. Are you?

[tomp]

94. flea bites i get...clay tables?

never heard that about breggin, but does it matter? have you read his critique of the genetic basis of schizophrenia. by the way, you can catch a few critters from the biopsychiatric beast as well.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

96. clay tables

http://carolineletkeman.org/sp/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1066&Itemid=165

CLAY DEMO, abbreviation for clay demonstration. A Scn study technique whereby the student demonstrates definitions, principles, etc. in clay to obtain greater understanding by translating significance into actual mass. (BTB 12 Apr 72R)

— L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary

CLAY TABLE, a clay table is any platform at which a student, stianding or sitting, can work comfortably. The surface must be smooth. A table built of rough timber will serve but the top surface where the work is done should be oil cloth or linoleum. Otherwise the clay sticks to it and it cannot be cleaned and will soon lead to an inability to see clearly what is being done because it is stained with clay leavings. (HCOB 10 Dec 70 I)

— L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary

CLAY TABLE CLEARING, 1 . a process of clearing words and symbols. (HCOB 9 Sept 64) 2 . as one Scn remedy for increased IQ and destimulation, clay table clearing is audited by an auditor in a session. The entire effort by the auditor in a session of clay table clearing is to help the pc regain confidence in being able to achieve things by removing the misunderstandings which have prevented that achievement. (HCOB 18 Aug 64)

— L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary

CLAY TABLE HEALING, gets the pc to name the condition the pc requires to be handled and gets the pc to represent this in clay. The whole process is flat when the condition has vanished. Clay table healing is a very precise series of actions. (HCOB 9 Sept 64) Abbr. CTH.

— L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary

CLAY TABLE IQ PROCESSING, 1 . trace back (with no meter) what word or term the pc failed to grasp in the subject chosen. Get the pc to make up the mass represented by the word in clay and any related masses. Get them all labeled and explained. I.Q. (intelligence quotient or the relative brightness of the individual) can be rocketed out of sight with HGC use of a clay table. (HCOB 17 Aug 64) 2 . the original issue of “Clay Table Clearing” was called “Clay Table I.Q. Processing.” (HCOB 27 Sept 64)

— L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary

CLAY TABLE PROCESSING, 1. the clay table presents us with a new series
of processes. The preclear is made to make in clay and labels whatever he or she is currently worried about or hasn’t understood in life. The essence of clay table processing is to get the pc to work it out. In auditing the pc tells the auditor. This is still true in clay table processing. (HCOB 17 Aug 64) 2. the pc handles the mass. The auditor does not suggest subjects or colors or forms. The auditor just finds out what should be made and tells the pc to do it in clay and labels. And keeps calling for related objects to be done in clay. (HCOB 17 Aug 64)

— L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary

CLAY TABLE TRAINING, the student is given a word or auditing action or situation to demonstrate. He then does this in clay. (HCOB 11 Oct 67)

— L. Ron Hubbard
Dianetics and Scientology Technical Dictionary

[chimpyisstillsatan]

97. Breggin

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/02/smith-p2.htm


...This is a philosophy that Breggin absorbed from his training under Thomas Szasz, one of the forerunners of the "anti-psychiatry" movement. In the 1960s—along with Erving Goffman, R. D. Laing, and Michel Foucault—Szasz, a refugee from Nazi-era Hungary and a psychiatrist, promoted the view that mental illness is a social construct. Breggin's language is taken straight from his teacher. In the revised edition of his 1961 book The Myth of Mental Illness, Szasz wrote, "'Mental illness' is a metaphor. Minds can be 'sick' only in the sense that jokes are 'sick' or economies are 'sick.'" ...

...CCHR was co-founded by Thomas Szasz, and its members take pains to emphasize this fact. Their connection to "the Church," as they call it, is spoken of less frequently. CCHR is separately incorporated, and although virtually every CCHR member worldwide also happens to be a member of the Church of Scientology, this is by choice, the organization says, not by compulsion. Rather than promote Scientology, CCHR seeks to lay out the evidence of psychiatry's misdeeds through the use of statistics, anecdotes, journal articles, news accounts, and hospital records.

[TankLV]

26. They were discovered to be registered REPUKES...

also found to have COGNITIVE DISSONANCE and FAILURE TO USE LOGIC and overwhelming urges to COMPULSIVE LYING...

they tend to be found in "clusters"...

[RC]

66. Some day you will be proved correct.

They have already found differences between Liberals and Conservatives brains. Now if only they can find a cure, or at least a treatment for the cause of the 25% or so of the population that suffers from Republicanism.

[tclambert]

69. George W. Bush cured a lot of people of Republicanism.

Unfortunately, the course of treatment took 8 years. And 22% seem to have a Bush-resistant strain of the disease.

[jwirr]

27. How do they define this particular disease? It is a word that has

a wide variety of meanings in the field of psychiatry.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

28. Here's a link to the actual article. Don't get too excited...

Universities release these breathless press releases all the time. If this study were that important or represented that major a breakthrough, it would be in a better journal (like the Archives of General Psychiatry).

While interesting, this isn't even close to proof of a causal link. At best this points to new drug therapies that might be ten years off, or perhaps a new way to image the early stages of the disease. The true test of cause is to show necessity and sufficiency for this characteristic in at least one form of the disease, and that ain't in this paper. The only way to do that is in humans with genetic and epidemiological studies. Decades of this type of search haven't uncovered such a link. Still, now they know one more thing to look for, which will make the search much more efficient.

Chin up, Science marches on!

---


http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/npp200941a.html

These data provide evidence that both orthosterically and allosterically acting CHRM agonists can stimulate a receptor-driven functional response (<(35)S>-GTPgammaS binding to Galpha(q/11)) in membranes prepared from post mortem human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia and controls . Furthermore, in a subgroup of patients with schizophrenia displaying markedly decreased PZP binding (MRDS) we have shown that although agonist potency may decrease, the efficacy of CHRM1-Galpha(q/11) coupling increases, suggesting an adaptative change in receptor-G protein coupling efficiency in this endophenotype of patients with schizophrenia.

[DU GrovelBot]

32. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

This week is our second quarter 2009 fund drive.
Donate and you'll be automatically entered into our daily contest.
New prizes daily!



No purchase or donation necessary. Void where prohibited. Click here for more information.

[Captain Hilts]

35. Why isn't this front page news everywhere? nt

[LisaL]

99. Because it's not as earth shattering news as some here

seem to think? It's not like a cure for schizophrenia has been found, for crying out loud.

[kickysnana]

40. The Brain Mom and Dad Are Fighting in Your Genes—and in Your Brain

http://discovermagazine.com/2008/dec/10-mom-and-dad-are-fighting-in-your-genes-and-your-brain/?searchterm=Autism%20schizophrenia

Neuroscientists have recently become fascinated with a particularly telling pair of rare brain disorders. One was identified in 1965 by English physician Harry Angelman, who was struck by the faces of three children he treated. These children were always smiling and often laughing. This disorder, now known as Angelman syndrome, affects around 1 in 20,000 children. Along with the smiles and laughs come other symptoms, some of which overlap those of severe autism. Many children with Angelman syndrome never learn to speak or read. They also keep their bodies in motion, often flapping their hands. When they nurse they suckle desperately, thrusting out their tongue.

Another similarly rare condition, called Prader-Willi syndrome, produces a different set of symptoms. Babies with Prader-Willi nurse very little—so little that they often have to be tube fed. However, once Prader-Willi children get to be a few years old, they develop an insatiable appetite. They will try to get around any obstacle put between them and food. Their fierce hunger is driven by a malfunctioning hypothalamus, a region deep in the brain that governs hunger and growth. Instead of autism, many people with Prader-Willi syndrome develop schizophrenia by adulthood, hearing voices and generating paranoid delusions.

[pitchforksandtorches]

42. schizophrenia ALSO strikes if you sign up as a Republican

[JayMusgrove]

48. No! That's just bat shit crazy! Schizophrenics can be very rational

when it comes to politics.

[Posteritatis]

63. Yes, yes, let's keep up the "the mentally ill are our enemies" bullshit (nt)

[surfinshell]

43. see like we've been trying to tell them...

it's not "being posessed by the devil".

[kickysnana]

44. Link to recent Discover articles on research

http://discovermagazine.com/search?SearchableText=schizophrenia&Submit.x=27&Submit.y=11

Discover is a great magazine to see what is being researched with additional background info on the researcher, institutions and a discussion of competing theories.

[Overseas]

46. K&R !! //nt

[jbnow]

50. NIH also had a big finding regarding schizophrenia published this month

Flow of Potassium Into Cells Implicated in Schizophrenia

A study on schizophrenia (http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml) has implicated machinery that maintains the flow of potassium in cells and revealed a potential molecular target for new treatments. Expression of a previously unknown form of a key such potassium channel was found to be 2.5 fold higher than normal in the brain memory hub of people with the chronic mental illness and linked to a hotspot of genetic variation.

An extensive series of experiments suggest that selectively inhibiting this suspect form could help correct disorganized brain activity in schizophrenia — without risk of cardiac side effects associated with some existing antipsychotic medications. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health and European colleagues report on threads of converging evidence in the May, 2009 issue of the journal Nature Medicine.

[eShirl]

60. thanks for posting that. n/t

[greiner3]

51. But wait, that does not explain everything;

There are more than 1/100 republicans in the US.

Just saying!

[Reterr]

52. Very cool

71 nm thin sections of brain :wow:. I wonder what they used. I know someone who takes brain sections to study a protein that may be causing autism, but he slices them a few microns thick. I haven't really seen examples of such thin tissue sections before.

[kestrel91316]

53. Way too late to help my mom. Her life has been ruined by this disease.

[Zhade]

83. I'm sorry. Happened to my grandmother, too.

I'm lucky I didn't get it.

[lostnotforgotten]

54. Good To KNow That Schizophrenia Has A Biological Basis Versus A Psychological Excuse

eom

[newinnm]

56. If you had ever known a person suffering from Schizophrenia

You wouldnt have needed and study to convince you of that.

nnnm

[EFerrari]

78. No kidding. Welcome to DU.

My favorite cousin's onset was when he was about 24. He is brilliant and the damage to his life has been profound. At least, he can still be at home. But, that's not really enough.

[Mizmoon]

61. Psychology and biology combined

In my opinion both factors have to be there to make the illness happen. That doesn't mean that the person had rotten parents or a traumatic episode or any guilty Freudian BS like that. But something in their human experience plus a biological predisposition caused the illness to maifest itself. John Nash has some interesting things to say on the topic.

[LisaL]

79. That was known for a very long time.

[Zhade]

80. What a fucking bullshit attack on schizophrenics.

My grandmother has the disease, ******* -- she isn't making it up just to enjoy the swanky lifestyle of a mental institution.

[lostnotforgotten]

85. Personal Attacks Are Against DU Rules - Besides That My Point Was Misread

Hope you have a better day.

[Zhade]

87. Yeah, I've seen how much THAT rule is enforced.

But giving you the benefit of the doubt, I ask you - what did you mean by "excuse", which is itself pejorative?

[lostnotforgotten]

88. Every Day, On Many Media Outlets, People Are Castigated For Suffering Mental Illness

That any mental illness is biologically based means that the excuse that the illness is somehow the responsibility of the sufferer is diminished or eliminated.

That is what I meant by the word excuse.

[Posteritatis]

92. Referring to non-biological causes as "excuses" doesn't help matters

That reads like a big "fuck you" to, say, PTSD sufferers.

[lostnotforgotten]

93. Your reaction Is Way Over The Top - Sorry But Discussing This With You Is Not Worthwhile

eom

[sofa king]

125. I think you misunderstand the poster.

I'm not saying I know what that person was thinking of for sure, but I can hazard a guess.

Anyone suffering from mental health disorders invariably runs into some opaque individual from the "good swift kick in the pants" school of thought. Psychology, like natural philosophy before the perfection of the microscope, really is a lot of bullshit. It's an attempt to describe a mechanism without actually knowing how the mechanism works (and in some cases, being comfortable with that).

But we know this for sure: the brain is a chemical computer and it works according to the laws of nature. We are not powered by magic, or by the love of Jesus or the malevolence of Baal. When that computer malfunctions, it malfunctions because of structural and chemical imbalances or deficiencies. That applies to all mental disorders, whether it be schizophrenia or PTSD.

Asking a brain to fix itself through self-discipline is very much like asking an automobile to fix itself by driving along a particular course. It doesn't work very often and when it does, the particular car wasn't that broken in the first place.

Also like a car, even if the brain is in reasonably good running order, it can still suffer at the hands of a poor driver. So the front of the mind still plays a role, but it is subservient to the good functioning of everything else underneath. Behavior can always be trumped by chemistry, as a small amount of cyanide will prove at any time.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

107. are you kidding? thats probably one of the stupidest things i have heard said about schizophrenia.

[The Wizard]

57. Does this translate

into hope for Republicans.

[Politicalboi]

58. This is 8 years too late for us

Maybe they could have cut into Bush's "brain" and cured him.

[lunatica]

65. This is earth shattering news. The door to the brain/mind connection is opening wide

Great news and it promises many more breakthroughs for other mental diseases, like Alzheimers. It seems to all be around proteins in the brain. Too many and/or too few

[KamaAina]

70. Bonzer, mates!

from one who lives in a place near where psychiatric and neurological disability intersect.

:bounce:

[pacalo]

71. Thank you for this.

I may get in touch with these doctors, offering any information about my son, who was diagnosed 5 years ago.

I'm amazed at DUers who are able to find articles such as this that aren't in the mainstream news -- & I thank you for sharing this.

[axollot]

89. I have a very dear friend with the disease, this will help her heaps!! n/t

[LisaL]

95. This might not be the cause, but an effect.

By the way, regardless, there is a far cry from knowing what problem causes the disease to actually curing it. There are many genetic diseases where cause is known, yet at this point of time nothing can be done to cure it.

[Cronus Protagonist]

100. I'm NOT Schizoprhenic -- that REALLY IS GOD TALKING TO ME!

I think a dragnet for the condition needs to be considered.

[LanternWaste]

110. One hopes this bodes well...

One hopes this bodes well for those who suffer.

[scheming daemons]

114. Half of me wants to be excited about this report, but the other half is skeptical

;-)

[WheelWalker]

124. I know...I'm split over this development myself.