Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder: Bridging the divide
October 16, 2009
Discovering common ground between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
(PhysOrg.com) -- Sufferers of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are being brought together in a major new study to determine the diseases? common genetic causes.
For the first time, sufferers of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are being brought together in a major new study investigating the diseases’ common genetic causes and manifestations.
UNSW researchers believe the study will challenge the traditional classification of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as separate diseases.
They hope the results will aid the early detection of a cognitive vulnerability to psychosis in adolescence, facilitating early intervention and the development of drug treatments that can be personalised according to genotype.
Recent molecular genetic and epidemiological studies in Sweden and the US have suggested that the disorders share some common genetic susceptibility, but the results have not been definitive in determining which genes are shared and what they code for.
“The international diagnostic manual for the classification of psychiatric disorders is currently being revised and it’s being considered as to whether schizophrenia and bipolar disorder should be grouped together. It’s very controversial,” said study leader Dr Melissa Green, from UNSW’s School of Psychiatry.
“There’s not been enough evidence so far to support that change - this study will provide good quality evidence on this issue,” she said.
Dr Green and her team will integrate data from genetics, functional neuroimaging, cognitive testing and physiological measurements to pinpoint shared genetic susceptibility to the disorders, which may manifest in common cognitive and frontal brain dysfunctions.
“We’ve spent over 100 years trying to work out what’s causing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and many people believe that maintaining these conditions as distinct diseases has been holding us back,” Dr Green said.
“Already some medications are shared across the two disorders, and are aimed at treating overt psychotic symptoms. With more information, new drugs could be developed to improve the enduring cognitive deficits as well.”
Dr Green was recently named as an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, with her project attracting close to $700,000 funding over four years from the federal government. The study is being conducted in collaboration with researchers at the Schizophrenia Research Institute, the Black Dog Institute, the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, and Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Provided by University of New South Wales (news : web)
Jul 17, 2008 |
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I have both bipolar and schizophrenia. "Yes" I challenge your statement that perceptions of these two diseases are not similar to the patient. Mania has a direct connection to psychosis in my and many others' cases. Psychosis by the way being the number one symptom of schizophrenia. Don't let your fear of powerful organizations block your ability to reason. This may result in a unification of medication, and that would be great! I hate taking so many pills every day, why not just one? And one that really treats symptoms well?
Now that I read your comment again, I think that you really suffer from what you say, because you say something projective: You say:
So I think that demonstrates that your schizophrenia goes hand in hand with the paranoia. This paranoia that is causing the psychosis you are talking about and hence most likely the hallucinations.
I really hope that they do find a medicine to treat it all.
My recommendation is always: try to turn the hallucinations into something useful. Buy a book about symbolisms and try to interpret the hallucinations, maybe you can get famous or rich from your situation. That is better than seeing your ability as a disability.
Please take control, I hope you can. At least you can give it a try
I suggest you reevaluate what your notions of schizophrenics are, and avoid advising us to "get rich" off of exploiting our own symptoms
2- I don't watch movies.
3- Why should I avoid giving this advice. From my view it is optimistic to try to turn something negative to your advantage. I would always try this even if the experience is horrific, I would do any effort to try to at least to remember what I perceived and try to put it to words in a book or notes. Even ask somebody to help me with that.
4- I have been warned to never go in discussion with somebody who suffers psychosis, but I ignore this because I want to understand. I try to listen between the words.