![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sigismund on November 3, 2017, at 12:12:04
Radical new approach to schizophrenia treatment begins trial
Exclusive: as evidence emerges that schizophrenia could be an immune system disease, two-year trial will use antibody drug currently used for MS
Brain images showing elevation in microglial activity in orange/red. The highest levels in schizophrenia are in the frontal cortex, involved in planning and regulating brain function, and the temporal cortex, involved in processing sounds and voices.
Brain images showing elevation in microglial activity in orange/red. The highest levels in schizophrenia are in the frontal cortex and the temporal cortex. Photograph: MRC Clinical Sciences Centre
View more sharing options
Shares
188
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent
@hannahdev
Friday 3 November 2017 15.52 GMT Last modified on Friday 3 November 2017 16.33 GMT
British scientists have begun testing a radically new approach to treating schizophrenia based on emerging evidence that it could be a disease of the immune system.The first patient, a 33-year old man who developed schizophrenia after moving to London from Cameroon a decade ago, was treated at Kings College Hospital in London on Thursday, marking the start of one of the most ambitious trials to date on the biology of the illness and how to treat it.
During the next two years, 30 patients will receive monthly infusions of an antibody drug currently used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), which the team hopes will target the root causes of schizophrenia in a far more fundamental way than current therapies.
Analysis Recognising that mind and body are not separate opens door for new treatments
As a trial for a radical schizophrenia treatment begins, the link between biological factors and some mental illnesses is becoming clearer than ever
Read more
The trial builds on more than a decades work by Oliver Howes, a professor of molecular psychiatry at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences and a consultant psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital in south London. Howess team is one of several worldwide to have uncovered evidence that abnormalities in immune activity in the brain may lie at the heart of the illness for some patients, at least.In the past, weve always thought of the mind and the body being separate, but its just not like that, said Howes. The mind and body interact constantly and the immune system is no different. Its about changing the way we think about mental illnesses.
Recent work by Howes and colleagues found that in the earliest stages of schizophrenia, people experience a surge in the number and activity of immune cells in the brain. As well as fighting infection, these cells, called microglia, have a gardening role, pruning unwanted connections between neurons. But in schizophrenia patients, the pruning appears to become more aggressive, leading to vital connections being lost.
We studied people in that [initial] phase of the illness and saw microglial changes, said Howes. It shows that its something [happening] very early on and seems to be driving the illness.
The most extensive pruning appears to occur in the frontal cortex, the brains master control centre, and also the auditory regions, which could explain why patients often hear voices. The frontal cortex indirectly controls the brains levels of dopamine a surge in this brain chemical is thought to explain the delusions and paranoia experienced by those with schizophrenia.
Nearly all existing medications work by blocking dopamine, which can bring psychotic symptoms under control, but fail to protect the brains basic architecture from damage.
The current drugs are based on 1950s technology; they all still work in exactly the same way, said Howes. They are only able to target the delusion side of things. Its like getting a sledgehammer and squashing it down.
Microglial cells, outlined in green stain, have thin processes that reach out around brain cells, stained in red.
Microglial cells, outlined in green stain, have thin processes that reach out around brain cells, stained in red. Photograph: Bloomfield et al
There is a growing appreciation that other, perhaps less well-known, symptoms associated with schizophrenia memory and cognitive problems, and lack of motivation can have an equally profound impact on patients, and existing drugs do little to help this side of the disease. Its typically [these other] symptoms that are the most disabling, said Toby Pillinger, a psychiatrist and Kings College London researcher involved in the study.The latest trial, a collaboration between MRC scientists and Kings College London, involves treating patients with a monoclonal antibody drug, called Natalizumab, that is already licensed for MS. In MS, the brains immune cells go awry by attacking a different aspect of the brains wiring. And although the diseases manifest in very different ways, apparent parallels in the underlying biology raise the possibility that the MS drug might help schizophrenia patients.
The drug works by targeting microglia and restricting their movement around the brain, which scientists hope could prevent the over-pruning of vital connections. In doing so, it could potentially address the diseases full spectrum of symptoms.
The first participant, Leopold Fotso, 33, received his first dose of treatment on Thursday. Fotso, who lives in south London after moving from Cameroon in 2007, was diagnosed with schizophrenia four years ago. He has been admitted to hospital several times with psychotic episodes. His illness also forced him to abandon his studies in accountancy which he had moved to the UK to pursue and his part-time kitchen job.
Leopold Fotso undergoes the first treatment of a new therapy for schizophrenia.
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Leopold Fotso undergoes the first treatment of a new therapy for schizophrenia. Photograph: Teri Pengilley for the Guardian
He currently has monthly injections of an antipsychotic drug, and his condition is now stable. He feels on the way to being himself again and is looking to slowly start working again. Its quite hard, he said.At some time during their life about 1 in 100 people will suffer an episode of schizophrenia. In the UK, about 220,000 people are being treated for the condition by the NHS at any one time.
In total, in this first trial, 60 patients will be treated for three months, attending clinic once a month for hour-long infusions half will receive the antibody, half a placebo. The patients symptoms will be tracked and, along with 30 healthy volunteers, they will be given a series of brain scans, cognitive assessments and tests of immune activity. The hope is that, even if symptoms do not improve, the study should also answer fundamental questions about the role of the immune system in the illness.
Belinda Lennox, senior clinical lecturer in psychiatry at the University of Oxford, whose work also focuses on the role of the immune system in schizophrenia, said the concept behind the latest study was exciting although at a very experimental stage. Theres a lot of emerging evidence that the immune system is going wrong [in schizophrenia], she said. If reducing inflammation acts to improve psychosis in this study it will open a new range of treatment possibilities, which is very exciting for the field, and desperately needed.
Posted by SLS on November 3, 2017, at 22:20:24
In reply to Schizophrenia, posted by sigismund on November 3, 2017, at 12:12:04
There is some speculation that glial or microglial cells invoke the immune system to prune the brain of excess neural connections. In schizophrenia, it is suggested that this process is accelerated, and that too much pruning occurs. The antithesis of this might be autistic disorders, where too little pruning is thought to occur.
- Scott
Posted by Hugh on November 9, 2017, at 16:17:05
In reply to Schizophrenia, posted by sigismund on November 3, 2017, at 12:12:04
In an update to a recent study, researchers say they are continuing to find evidence that women who take supplements containing choline when they're pregnant may lower the risk of schizophrenia in their children.
The children in the study are now 4 years old, and are already showing fewer early signs of schizophrenia -- such as certain attention and social problems -- than expected, said Dr. Robert Freedman at a talk in New York City on Oct. 23. Half of the children in the study had an increased risk for schizophrenia because their mothers had depression, anxiety or psychosis.
Freedman, the chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and editor in chief of The American Journal of Psychiatry, gave attendees at the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation symposium an update on the participants in his study, which was originally published in 2013 in The American Journal of Psychiatry.
In the 2013 study, Freedman and his team looked at the brains of the babies when they were newborns. They found that those whose mothers took a supplement containing phosphatidylcholine (a version of the nutrient choline) during the second or third trimester of pregnancy showed improvements in how well nerve cells could block certain signals, compared to a group whose moms were given a placebo. In people with schizophrenia, this ability to block these signals does not fully develop.
This means that people with schizophrenia are unable to block out certain sensory signals, making it difficult to focus their attention, Freedman said at the research meeting last month.
Complete article:
https://www.livescience.com/52674-prenatal-choline-schizophrenia-risk.html
Dr. Robert Freedman's talk on preventing schizophrenia:
Posted by SLS on November 9, 2017, at 19:44:58
In reply to Re: Schizophrenia, posted by Hugh on November 9, 2017, at 16:17:05
Thanks, Hugh.
> In an update to a recent study, researchers say they are continuing to find evidence that women who take supplements containing choline when they're pregnant may lower the risk of schizophrenia in their children.
>
> The children in the study are now 4 years old, and are already showing fewer early signs of schizophrenia -- such as certain attention and social problems -- than expected, said Dr. Robert Freedman at a talk in New York City on Oct. 23. Half of the children in the study had an increased risk for schizophrenia because their mothers had depression, anxiety or psychosis.
>
> Freedman, the chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and editor in chief of The American Journal of Psychiatry, gave attendees at the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation symposium an update on the participants in his study, which was originally published in 2013 in The American Journal of Psychiatry.
>
> In the 2013 study, Freedman and his team looked at the brains of the babies when they were newborns. They found that those whose mothers took a supplement containing phosphatidylcholine (a version of the nutrient choline) during the second or third trimester of pregnancy showed improvements in how well nerve cells could block certain signals, compared to a group whose moms were given a placebo. In people with schizophrenia, this ability to block these signals does not fully develop.
>
> This means that people with schizophrenia are unable to block out certain sensory signals, making it difficult to focus their attention, Freedman said at the research meeting last month.
>
> Complete article:
>
> https://www.livescience.com/52674-prenatal-choline-schizophrenia-risk.html
>
> Dr. Robert Freedman's talk on preventing schizophrenia:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4ZUMgLAryU
Posted by Hugh on November 11, 2017, at 20:04:12
In reply to Re: Schizophrenia » Hugh, posted by SLS on November 9, 2017, at 19:44:58
You're welcome. Taking phosphatidylcholine during pregnancy might also help to prevent depression, anxiety, ADHD, low intelligence, and memory loss later in life.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.