Schizophrenia is a devastating psychiatric disorder that affects 1% of the population worldwide. Patients often suffer their first psychotic outbreak in their late teens or early 20s. Despite advances in neuroleptic drugs, many patients' symptoms remain refractory to treatment, with recurrent episodes of auditory and visual hallucinations, bizarre delusions, depression, and social withdrawal that can last an entire lifetime. More »

The field of schizophrenia recently has seen remarkable progress in the understanding and treatment of this disabling condition. Dr. Buckley provides highlights of this special report. More »

Although late-onset psychosis is not as common as the early-onset variety, it can still pose difficulties in diagnosing and treating patients. How are patients with late-onset psychosis different from those who have early-onset, and what sorts of issues should clinicians be aware of? More »

HonorsThe National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) recently honored outstanding psychiatric researchers. More »

New imaging techniques have shown a dynamic wave of gray matter loss in early-onset schizophrenia. Can this pattern of destruction provide a window of opportunity to combat this disease? More »

There is currently great controversy over the issue of obsessive-compulsive behaviors in schizophrenia. Are patients who display these behaviors suffering from a separate subtype of schizophrenia? More »

The first magnetic resonance imaging studies in schizophrenia began to appear in the literature in 1984. These studies confirmed earlier theories and also contributed new findings such as changes in size of the hippocampus, amygdala, corpus callosum and so on in patients with schizophrenia. What other neuroimaging techniques are being used? What do recent studies show regarding the neuroanatomic abnormalities found in patients with schizophrenia? More »

Patients with schizophrenia have a high risk of committing suicide. Between 25% and 50% attempt suicide at least once, resulting in approximately 3,600 successful attempts each year in the United States. What are the risk factors for suicide one should look for in treating patients with schizophrenia? Herbert Y. Meltzer, M.D., discusses the issue and offers warning signs. More »

Other Hormones on Behavior - Poetry of the Times More »