Brain signs of schizophrenia found in babies
UNC researchers are the first to identify brain abnormalities in children at high risk for schizophrenia shortly after birth. The finding could lead to earlier detection of schizophrenia and enable better prevention and treatment.
Infant’s brain image on left shows the larger lateral ventricles and a generally larger brain overall. Image provided by John Gilmore, MD.
Media contact: Les Lang (919) 966-9366, llang@med.unc.edu
Monday, June 21, 2010
CHAPEL HILL – Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder
affecting one in 100 people worldwide. Most cases aren’t detected until
a person starts experiencing symptoms like delusions and hallucinations
as a teenager or adult. By that time, the disease has often progressed
so far that it can be difficult to treat.
In a paper published recently online by the American Journal of
Psychiatry, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill and Columbia University provide the first evidence that brain
abnormalities associated with schizophrenia risk are detectable in
babies only a few weeks old.
“It allows us to start thinking about how we can identify kids at risk
for schizophrenia very early and whether there things that we can do
very early on to lessen the risk,” said lead study author
John H. Gilmore, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the UNC Schizophrenia Research
Center.
The scientists used ultrasound and MRI to examine brain development in
26 babies born to mothers with schizophrenia. Having a first-degree
relative with the disease raises a person’s risk of schizophrenia to
one in 10. Among boys, the high-risk babies had larger brains and
larger lateral ventricles—fluid-filled spaces in the brain—than babies
of mothers with no psychiatric illness.
“Could it be that enlargement is an early marker of a brain that’s
going to be different?” Gilmore speculated. Larger brain size in
infants is also associated with autism.
The researchers found no difference in brain size among girls in the
study. This fits the overall pattern of schizophrenia, which is more
common, and often more severe, in males.
The findings do not necessarily mean the boys with larger brains will
develop schizophrenia. Relatives of people with schizophrenia sometimes
have subtle brain abnormalities but exhibit few or no symptoms.
“This is just the very beginning,” said Gilmore. “We’re following
these children through childhood.” The team will continue to measure
the children’s brains and will also track their language skills, motor
skills and memory development. They will also continue to recruit women
to the study to increase the sample size.
This research provides the first indication that brain abnormalities
associated with schizophrenia can be detected early in life. Improving
early detection could allow doctors to develop new approaches to
prevent high-risk children from developing the disease. “The research
will give us a better sense of when brain development becomes
different,” said Gilmore. “And that will help us target
interventions.”
The paper is available now online and will be published in the
September issue of the journal. The study was funded by grants from the
National Institute of Mental Health and the Foundation of Hope.
In addition to Gilmore, authors of the study were Chaeryon Kang,
Dianne D. Evans, Honor M. Wolfe, J. Keith Smith, Weili Lin, Robert M.
Hamer, Martin Styner, and Guido Gerig. Author Jeffrey A.
Lieberman, chairs the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia
University.
