- Researchers investigated how immune cell function may affect the development of schizophrenia.
- They reported that immune factors in people with schizophrenia affect the growth of blood vessels in the brain.
- Further studies are needed to see whether this mechanism is involved in the development of schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder. Its symptoms can include disorganized speech, delusions and hallucinations.
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What causes the condition remains unknown. Researchers suspect that a combination of genetic, physical, psychological, and environmental factors may play a role.
A growing amount of evidence suggests that schizophrenia may arise from an immune response in the brain.
Understanding more about how immune cells work in the brain in people with schizophrenia could lead to the development of treatments for the condition.
Recently, researchers investigated the role of astrocytes in the development of schizophrenia.
“We know that glial cells are very important for antioxidant and inflammatory responses in the central nervous system,” Dr. Andrew Farah, a psychiatrist at Novant Health in North Carolina, told Medical News Today.
“Schizophrenia and untreated psychosis involve an inflammatory response, so the theory has long held that perhaps these brains are less well equipped to deal with inflammation,” he added.
In a new
Dr. Michael McGrath, a psychiatrist and medical director of the…
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