schizophrenia

Health November 5, 2018

Researchers eye genetic factors in schizophrenia drugs

By GREGORY ZELLER // A new study by Feinstein Institute for Medical Research scientists suggests that a patient’s response to antipsychotic pharmaceuticals can be predicted by genetic predispositions. Schizophrenia – characterized by delusions, hallucinations and disorganized thoughts – is one of the leading causes of disability in the United States. Antipsychotic pharmaceuticals are a common treatment option, but such therapies are often “given without guidance from lab tests to show effectiveness, as is common in…

Health March 16, 2017

Researchers zoom in on schizophrenia biomarkers

A Feinstein Institute for Medical Research scientist will focus next-level imaging techniques on schizophrenia and other brain disorders, thanks to a hefty federal grant. Research scientist Anil Malhotra – a professor in the Feinstein Institute’s Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience and the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Medicine – has been awarded a five-year, $3 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to identify biomarkers specific to schizophrenia and treatment-resistant psychosis. The biomarkers…

Health September 3, 2015

A giant step on the road to precision medicine

By GREGORY ZELLER // This is your brain. This is your brain on antipsychotic medications. Any questions? Investigators at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, the R&D wing of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, have plenty. Among them: Can doctors use brain scans to predict how patients will respond to antipsychotic medications – even before medications are prescribed? Such predictability would allow providers to fine-tune prescribed meds and doses, a potentially enormous innovation in the…