Honing in on the risks of cannabis, scientists have found that marijuana use hastens the onset of schizophrenia by nearly three years for those already at risk for the disorder. In the Archives of General Psychiatry, a team of researchers reports that the onset of psychosis occurs about 2.7 years earlier for people who use marijuana than for those who don’t. And the loss of even 2.7 symptom-free years can worsen a patient’s prognosis for life, they say. “We’ve known for many years that people who develop schizophrenia earlier have a number of poorer outcomes,” said Michael ... Read More
The Marijuana and Schizophrenia Conundrum
March 1, 2010 • By • 14 Comments
For years it's been a classic chicken-or-egg riddle: Does smoking marijuana lead to schizophrenia, or are those with schizophrenia who use cannabis simply seeking the calming effects of the drug? Researchers have suspected a link since the 1960s, and study after study has hinted that use of marijuana may trigger schizophrenia, a serious mental illness that affects one in 100 people. Recent studies, however, provide evidence strong enough to give public health officials — not to mention parents and educators — pause, especially as legalization efforts pick up steam. The latest to ... Read More
Order From Chaos: Making Sense of Schizophrenia Research
July 6, 2009 • By • 1 Comment
Researchers zeroing in on the origins of schizophrenia and the mechanisms that cause its debilitating delusions, hallucinations and disordered thinking agree it is an extraordinarily complex disease, with multiple contributing causes. As they explore genetic and neurotransmitter networks (and the possibility of more effective drug treatments), the deluge of new data can sometimes make it hard for to see the forest for the trees. Among the latest findings: Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health identified in schizophrenia sufferers a mutated form of a gene for ... Read More
Is Criminalizing Mental Health Wise Policy?
November 18, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
Part II of a four-part series looking at the sorry state of treating the mentally ill — beyond warehousing people in institutions or prisons — and the tentative efforts to improve the situation. Part I looked at the scope of the problem and the downbeat assessments by experts. In her worst nightmares, Linda Stewart-Oaten never dreamed her son Chris would murder her cousin Sylvia. Chris, who suffers from schizoaffective disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, has been in state prison ever since that day he shot his mother's cousin 14 years ago. "Of course, ... Read More
America’s Mental Health (Care) Is Getting Worse
November 14, 2008 • By • Leave a Comment
Part I of a four-part series looking at the sorry state of treating the mentally ill — beyond warehousing people in institutions or prisons — and the tentative efforts to improve the situation. Also see Part II, Part III and Part IV. When David Eldridge was finishing his senior year of high school, one of his teachers said to his mom, Ann: "He is bright, but his mind is disorganized." Looking back, Ann Eldridge wishes she had paid closer attention. She was a psychiatric nurse at the time; still she didn't see the warning signs. Now, 32 years later, she watches her son struggle with ... Read More
