Long-term cannabis use increases risk of mental ills: study

2010-03-01T13:01:02Z

<div><p>Young adults who started using cannabis at an early age and used it for several years are at increased risk of being diagnosed with a form of psychosis, of hallucinating or having delusions, a study published Monday found.</p><p>The study conducted at the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Quee...

Long-time cannabis use linked to psychosis: study

2010-03-01T12:34:11Z

<div><p>The longer people use cannabis or marijuana, the more likely they are to experience hallucinations or delusions or to suffer psychosis, according to a study released Saturday.</p><p>The study found that people who first used cannabis when they were aged 15 or younger were twice as likely to develop a "non-affective psychosis" -- which can include schizophrenia -- than those who had never used the drug.</p><p>The research led by

Teen pot smokers at high risk of mental illness

2010-03-01T09:45:32Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Young people who use marijuana (cannabis) are at increased risk of suffering hallucinations, delusions or other reality-distorting "psychoses." And the more time that's passed since first use, the higher the risk.</p><p>The findings from a study by Dr. John McGrath, of the Reuters) - Young people who smoke cannabis or marijuana for six years or more are twice as likely to have psychotic episodes, hallucinations or delusions than people who have never used the drug, scientists said on Monday.</p><p>The findings adds weight to previous research which linked psychosis with the drug -- particularly in its most potent form as "skunk" -- and will feed the debate abo...

Mom's anemia may raise schizophrenia risk in offspring

2010-02-22T10:20:32Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors have long recommended iron supplements for the support of a healthy pregnancy, but new research adds even more weight to the sage advice: By increasing her iron intake, a pregnant woman may also decrease her baby's risk of schizophrenia later in life.</p><p>Children of mothers who had been diagnosed with anemia during pregnancy, mos...

Can fish oil help guard against schizophrenia?

2010-02-22T12:55:10Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking fish oil may help prevent full-blown psychotic illness in at-risk adolescents and young adults, a study released today hints.</p><p>These at-risk individuals may have weak or transient psychotic symptoms, and already show schizophrenia-like brain changes, Dr. G. Paul Amminge...

Fish oil shows promise in preventing psychosis

2010-02-22T12:55:36Z

<div id="subtitle">Fish oil pills show promise in preventing descent into schizophrenia for young people</div><div><p>Fish oil pills may be able to save some young people with signs of mental illness from descending into schizophrenia, according to a preliminary but first-of-its-kind study.</p><p>The Austrian study of just 81 patients comes from leaders in the field of youth mental health and adds to evidence sug...

What Are the Different Types of Symptoms and Treatment of Schizophrenia?

2010-02-22T17:17:23Z

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease that has been recognized throughout recorded story. The 1st signs of schizophrenia typically emerge in the teenaged years or early 20s. It's a form of psychosis, which is an impairment of thinking in which the interpretation of fact is abnormal. It's rare in kids and is hard to recognize in its early phases. The condition schizophrenia literally means split mind; however, a lot of people still trust wrongly that the condition cau...

No link seen between flu outbreak, schizophrenia

2010-02-22T20:20:02Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Questioning the theory that prenatal exposure to the flu virus might be a risk factor for schizophrenia, a new study finds no link between the flu pandemic of 1957 and later schizophrenia rates.</p><p>In an analysis of studies from Europe, Australia

FDA OKs longer-lasting version of Lilly's Zyprexa

2010-02-23T16:21:40Z

<div id="subtitle">FDA approves longer-lasting version of Eli Lilly anti-psychotic Zyprexa</div><div><p>Drugmaker Eli Lilly &amp; Co. said Monday regulators have approved a longer-lasting version of its top-selling drug, the anti-psychotic Zyprexa.</p><p>The Reuters) - People who smoke "skunk" -- a potent form of cannabis -- are almost seven times more likely to develop psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia than those who smoke "hash" or cannabis resin, according to research.</p><p>Scientists from King's College London's institute of psy...

Smoking skunk raises risk of pyschosis, study finds

2010-02-23T22:44:22Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - People who smoke "skunk" -- a potent form of cannabis -- are almost seven times more likely to develop psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia than those who smoke "hash" or cannabis resin, according to research.</p><p>Scientists from King's College London's institute of psy...

Heart disease a killer in psychotic individuals

2010-02-24T04:09:37Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders are more likely to die of heart disease than mentally healthy individuals, a study in US veterans indicates.</p><p>While the fact that people with psychosis were more likely to smoke and be inactive accounted for much of the dif...

AG says Utah agrees to $24M Zyprexa settlement

2010-02-24T06:49:21Z

<div id="subtitle">Utah agrees to $24M settlement over Eli Lilly's marketing of the Zyprexa anti-psychotic drug</div><div><p>Utah has agreed to a $24 million settlement with Eli Lilly &amp; Co. over claims the drugmaker engaged in off-label marketing of the anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa,

People with schizophrenia rarely kill strangers

2010-02-24T16:13:34Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Despite some highly publicized incidents in recent years, people with schizophrenia rarely commit random homicide, research shows.</p><p>Pooling data from seven studies in four countries, researchers found that the odds of a person with schizophrenia killing a stranger were 1 in 14 million people per year.</p><p>...

Judge: Suspect in Iowa coach death can stand trial

2010-02-24T22:30:59Z

<div><p>A judge ruled Monday that the man accused of gunning down a legendary Iowa high school football coach is mentally competent to stand trial.</p><p>Mark D. Becker, 24, can appreciate the first-degree murder charges against him, understand the proceedings and assist with his defense, according to an order filed by Butler County District Ju...

Warning signs missed in baby dismemberment case

2010-02-26T04:32:56Z

<div><p>Otty Sanchez, a schizophrenic with a history of hospitalizations, refused to take medication for her postpartum depression, her son's father said. She'd been going to regular counseling and had been briefly hospitalized since the boy was born.</p><p>But the 33-year-old woman's troubles only became apparent to authorities when they found her before dawn Sunday, in a house where ...

Scientists try to stop schizophrenia in its tracks

2010-02-26T04:39:05Z

<div id="subtitle">Seeking to block voices, 'odd thoughts,' scientists try to stop schizophrenia in young people</div><div><p>She was sociable and happy in high school. But in college that changed abruptly: Depressed and withdrawn, some days she couldn't get out of bed.</p><p>And that wasn't all.</p><p>"I had really odd thoughts," recalled the woman, now 21, who asked that her name not...

Study: Clozapine may have saved schizophrenics

2010-02-26T10:24:29Z

<div><p>Thousands of people with schizophrenia worldwide could have been saved if doctors had prescribed them the anti-psychotic drug clozapine, a new study says.</p><p>Clozapine was introduced in the 1970s, but was banned for about a decade because of a rare but potentially deadly side effect: up to 2 percent of patients lose their white blood cells while taking the drug.</p><p>It was brought back to the market ...

Gene variations hinder mental illness tests

2010-02-26T14:28:59Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - As many as 30,000 different gene variations may underlie schizophrenia and bipolar disease, meaning any kind of quick test to predict either disease is a long way off, scientists said on Wednesday.</p><p>Three studies by a multinational group of researchers analyzed the DNA of 10,000 people with schizophrenia, and 20,000 without, and found 30,000 co...

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