Schizophrenic brain images "offer hope for new treatments"
The first images of schizophrenia attacking the brain have been produced by US researchers, holding out the prospect of new treatments for the condition.
The images, obtained using magnetic resonance imaging and a cutting-edge analysis technique, show how a dynamic wave of tissue loss engulfs
the brain of patients over a number of years.
Schizophrenia is a type of psychosis that affects 1 per cent of the population. Common symptoms are hallucinations, bizarre and psychotic thoughts, and depression. The condition usually appears in the late teens or twenties and appears to run in families, although "risk" genes have not yet been found.
Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles, scanned the brains of a group of teenagers repeatedly as they developed schizophrenia. Using a new, highly sensitive analysis method, they detected grey matter loss of more than 10 per cent in the outer regions, which had spread to the rest of the brain after five years.
They also found mild tissue loss in healthy subjects between the ages of 13 and 18, but in schizophrenics this loss gained momentum and spread to areas controlling sensory and motor functions.
Professor Paul Thompson, the study's chief investigator, said that even though scientists had speculated about what physical changes schizophrenia might cause in the brain, the results had come as a surprise.
"We were stunned to see a spreading wave of tissue loss that began in a small region of the brain. It moved across the brain like a forest fire, destroying more tissue as the disease progressed."
The team hope that the new imaging technique will allow earlier diagnosis and treatment of the condition, possibly with medication designed to fight the rapid loss of brain tissue.
© Health Media Ltd 2001
For more health information from Surgery Door, click here
|
ADVERTISEMENT
 |
|
Email this article
- View most sent articles
