Link between autoimmune disorders and psychosis confirmed in new study

TheConversation: People with autoimmune disorders, a collection of diseases where the body’s immune system attacks its own cells, are more likely to have psychosis, according to our latest research. Previous research found that rates of rheumatoid arthritis were lower in people with psychosis than would be expected in the general population. But later studies showed that other autoimmune disorders, such as coeliac disease and autoimmune thyroid disorders, were more common in people with psychosis. This led scientists to the view that there is a connection between autoimmune disorders and psychosis. But conflicting findings meant that it was difficult to reach any conclusions about the relationship.

What is taurine and how can it improve psychosis?

TheConversation: A compound found in many foods and energy drinks can decrease symptoms of depression and psychosis, which is where the person loses contact with reality. In our recent study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, we tested whether supplementing standard treatment with taurine would improve cognition and other mental health symptoms in young people who had experienced their first psychotic episode.

Unable to cope with uncertainty: the gateway to psychosis?

INSERM: Imagine being plunged into a world in which events did not always have the same consequences, and with rules that changed without your knowledge. How would you adapt? Uncertainty as a factor in decision making is a fundamental issue in general psychology. Our world turns out to be more or less predictable, and our brain has to adapt to this uncertainty to make the best possible choices in any situation. This is the subject that attracted Fabien Vinckier and Raphaël Gaillard, researchers at St Anne’s Hospital, Inserm and Paris Descartes University, in collaboration with Mathias Pessiglione, an Inserm researcher at the Brain and Spinal Cord Institute at Pitié–Salpêtrière Hospital, AP-HP, and Paul Fletcher, from the University of Cambridge in Great Britain. This study, which has been published in Molecular Psychiatry, reveals that our ability to adapt our decisions to the uncertainty inherent in any choice may be disrupted in the early stages of psychosis.

Autism and psychosis combo aids in understanding perspective

Scimex: Both autism and psychosis-related disorders are associated with difficulties in understanding the perspective of others. Now, a study by UK and Australian authors has unexpectedly found that these difficulties are diminished in individuals who have both disorders, actually making it easier for these people to understand another's perspective.

Antibodies may trigger psychosis in children

Sydney: A world first study revealing the presence of two antibodies in a sub-group of children experiencing their first episode of psychosis affirms a longstanding recognition that auto-immune disorders play a significant role in psychiatric illness. Antibodies defend the body against bacterial, viral, and other invaders but sometimes the body makes antibodies that attack healthy cells. In these cases, autoimmune disorders develop. These include conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and Type 1 diabetes. This 'immune hypothesis' is supported by new research in the current issue of Biological Psychiatry.

No link found between psychedelics and psychosis

Nature: In large US survey, users of LSD and similar drugs were no more likely to have mental-health conditions than other respondents.