Researcher scanning for clues in schizophrenia mystery
David McAllindon is investigating brain activity in people with schizophrenia.
August 31, 2007 - Edmonton - A University of Alberta researcher is looking for a few good men to help uncover some of the mystery that surrounds schizophrenia.
David McAllindon, from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, is investigating brain activity in people with schizophrenia to determine which areas of the brain are affected by the disorder. He needs about 100 volunteers - right-handed men between the ages of 18 and 50, with schizophrenia or without - to spend some time in an MRI machine.
"There have been a lot of studies looking for biological markers in schizophrenia, looking at things like neurotransmitters and brain structure. But, generally, if you take one person and do some measurements, you can't identify unambiguously that this person has the disease," said McAllindon.
"I'm looking for functional differences. When a person does a specific task, certain parts of their brain are involved. I'm looking for a difference in the activation that someone with schizophrenia has, versus a healthy volunteer."
Schizophrenia is a devastating mental disorder affecting an estimated 51 million people worldwide. There is no known cause, for the disease, which generally strikes between the ages of 16 and 30. Symptoms vary but may include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech and behaviour, social withdrawal, and depression. The disorder may develop gradually over time, or can have a sudden onset with rapid development.
Some patients manage the disease better than others.
"The outlook varies a lot. Some people can take the medication and recover a lot of their functioning and other people will be very disable by it for the rest of their lives," said McAllindon.
"Researchers have identified differences in the brain almost everywhere they've looked carefully. It seems like schizophrenia is something that doesn't have an extreme effect on one particular part of the brain; it is a more general diffuse kind of effect."
McAllindon is also looking for volunteers who are sons or brothers of people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. "We'd like to see if schizophrenia is a spectrum - if you can have varying degrees of schizophrenia."
To participate in this study, contact David McAllindon at 604-0048 or mcallind@ualberta.ca.
This type of research is important in identifying the areas of the brain involved in performing a simple activity and which areas of the brain are affected by schizophrenia, said McAllindon.
"It adds to our understanding of the disease and the effects of the disease, and hopefully better understanding will lead to better treatment."
McAllindon's research is funded by the Alberta Mental Health Board in partnership with the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and by the Bebensee Schizophrenia Research Unit.
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