Biology
Biology
September 5, 2024
Trace lithium levels in drinking water reduce the risk of dementia: a systematic review
Fraiha-Pegado, de Paula, Alotaibi, Forlenza & Hajek -- International Journal of Bipolar Disorders volume 12, Article number: 32 (2024) -- The sample size varied in the studies from 37,597 to 35,000,000. Lithium levels rang...
Biology
August 22, 2024
No HIV Infections After Twice-a-Year PrEP
Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable HIV-1 capsid inhibitor, has shown 100% efficacy in preventing HIV in women at a high risk for infection, according to an interim analysis of the phase 3 PURPOSE 1 trial. -- The result...
Biology
June 3, 2024
Accelerated iTBS Treats Bipolar Depression in 5 Days
Yvette Sheline, of the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, reported that 10 intermittent theta burst stimulations (iTBS) per day for 5 days yielded dramatic improvement in patients with bipolar depressi...
Biology
June 2, 2024
The Pathophysiology of Schizophrenia is Becoming Clearer
David Lewis of U. Pittsburgh showed that the glutamate neurons in the prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia are deficient in the gamma (30-50 Hz) oscillations that are responsible for normal working memory. -- N...
Biology
May 30, 2024
Influence of Childhood Maltreatment on Morphometry and Brain Network Architecture in Bipolar Disorder
Martin Teicher of McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, reported on the influence of childhood maltreatment on morphometry and brain network architecture in Bipolar Disorder. -- “Childhood maltreatment (MAL) is common i...
Biology
May 9, 2024
“Epigenetic Changes After Trauma May Be Adaptive, Contribute to Resilience”
Originally From Psychiatric News Update -- In recent years, research throughout the scientific and medical community has suggested a link between trauma and epigenetic changes, chemical modifications that affect gene activ...
Biology
February 17, 2024
Bipolar I patient show dramatic reductions in white matter integrity
Thiel et al in Neuropsychopharmacology (2024) reported that “Compared with HC [healthy controls], BD-I patients exhibited lower FA [fractional anisotropy] in widespread clusters (ptfce-FWE?< 0.001), including almost all ma...
Biology
October 31, 2023
New Findings by Colvin Award Winner, Roger McIntyre
There is a convergence of finding of the occurrence of cognitive dysfunction in diabetes, obesity, and bipolar and unipolar mood disorders. This is based on new evidence of insulin resistance in the CNS found in examinatio...
Biology
July 18, 2023
Changes in brain structure in remitted bipolar patients
Macoveanu et al reported in the Journal of Affective Disorders (2023) that compared to controls that remitted bipolar patients had “a decline in total white matter volume over time and they had a larger amygdala volume, bo...
Biology
July 10, 2023
Metabolic Changes in Brain of Bipolar at Autopsy
Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023 -- Graeme Preston reported on the brain of autopsied bipolar patients having increases asparta...
Biology
July 7, 2023
Both Obesity and Bipolar Disorders in 2249 Individuals Show White Matter Microstructure Abnormalities
Lorielle Dietze of Dalhousie University “obtained body mass index (BMI) and diffusion tensor imaging derived fractional anisotropy (FA) values from 930 individuals with bipolar disorders (BD), and 1319 control individuals ...
Biology
July 6, 2023
Cognitive Function and White Matter Integrity in Individuals With Bipolar Disorder
Highlights from Posters Presented at the Society of Biological Psychiatry Meeting, April 27-29, 2023 in San Diego -- Jennifer McDowell reported that they found “significantly reduced FA (fractional anisotropy) values in 85...
Biology
July 4, 2023
Intranasal Oxytocin for Internalizing Symptoms in Youth With Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Highlights from Posters Presented at the Society of Biological Psychiatry Meeting, April 27-29, 2023 in San Diego -- E. Kendall reported that “Fifty-two youths with diagnoses of DBD [Disruptive Behavior Disorders] particip...
Biology
July 3, 2023
Disrupted Circadian Temperature Rhythm in Skin Temperature in Bipolar Mania
Highlights from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Conference Posters and Presentations, Chicago, June 22-25, 2023 -- Andrea Stautland of University of Bergen studied the nocturnal temperature of sleeping part...
Biology
July 1, 2023
Higher Brain Temperature in Youth Bipolar Disorder Using a Novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging Approach
Highlights from Posters Presented at the Society of Biological Psychiatry Meeting, April 27-29, 2023 in San Diego -- Ben Goldstein of the University of Toronto reported that “Brain temperature was significantly higher in B...
Biology
February 22, 2023
Sleep Disturbances in Pediatric Bipolar NOS is the Same as in BP I
Gianni Faedda reported in Frontiers in Psychiatry (2012) that decreased need for sleep is as prominent in BP NOS children as in those with BP I. So it appears that with the exception of only brief periods of mania in BP NO...
Biology
November 2, 2022
First and Only Oral NDMA Receptor Antagonist for MDD Can Now Be Prescribed
October 28, 2022 -- FEATURED NEWS: First and Only Oral NDMA Receptor Antagonist for MDD Can Now Be Prescribed
Extended-release dextromethorphan HBr-bupropion HCl (Auvelity™), the only oral N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) recep...
Biology
November 2, 2022
A New View on Memory to Remember
Steven Ramirez PhD of Boston University gave a talk (8/9/22) on memory for the BBRF hosted by Jeffrey Borenstein President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. Ramirez showed that positive (food) and negative...
Biology
June 4, 2021
Surface Area of Cortex Is Reduced After Multiple Manic Episodes
In a 2020 article in the journal Psychiatric Research: Neuroimaging, researcher Rashmin Achalia and colleagues described a study of structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that compared 30 people with bipolar I disorde...
Biology
May 27, 2021
Left Prefrontal Strokes Linked to Depression
In a 2021 article in the journal Stroke, researcher Julian Klingbeil and colleagues reported that left, but not right, ventrolateral prefrontal stroke lesions were associated with increased risk of depression at six months...
Biology
April 6, 2021
Insomnia Plays Critical Role in Bipolar Disorder
In a 2021 article in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, researcher Laura Palagini and colleagues reported that insomnia symptoms can affect the course of bipolar illness. In a helpful summary and interview in the Psychia...
Biology
October 13, 2020
No Association of Benzodiazepines, Z Drugs and Other Anxiolytics with Dementia
Photo by Paola Aguilar on Unsplash -- Benzodiazepines, so-called Z-drugs (such as zolpidem, zopiclone, and zaleplon), and other anxiolytics are commonly prescribed drugs that have some cognitive side effects. For this reas...
Biology
July 7, 2020
White Matter Disturbances in Bipolar Disorder
At the 2020 meeting of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, researcher Clare Beasley described the cellular and molecular underpinnings of the white matter abnormalities typically seen in children and adults wi...
Biology
June 2, 2020
Neurotransmitters Can Also Function As Epigenetic Marks
The most common epigenetic marks involve methylation of DNA (which usually inhibits gene transcription) and the acetylation and methylation of histones. Acetylation opens or loosens the winding of DNA around the histones a...
Biology
May 29, 2020
Environment Can Leave “Molecular Scars” Via Epigenetic Processes
A 2020 review article by researchers Julia Richetto and Urs Meyer in the journal Biological Psychiatry provides a good overview of the role epigenetic modifications play in schizophrenia and related disorders. -- The artic...