Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have begun a new initiative to identify and develop possible treatments for people at high risk for schizophrenia. Scientists hope their study will shed light on factors that may cause schizophrenia and lead to new strategies to prevent schizophrenia from developing in vulnerable people.
Schizophrenia typically begins in late adolescence or early adulthood.
The disorder manifests itself through mental and behavioral symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, the scrambling of thoughts and the erosion of cognitive functions. Both genetic and environmental factors are thought to interact to cause schizophrenia. The program's goal is to help individuals cope with their symptoms so they can continue leading their lives normally and achieve their personal goals. Research projects aim to evaluate risk factors to predict who will develop psychosis, and to determine if a medication helps treat non-specific symptoms and prevents the development of psychosis. By unveiling identification markers that could predict schizophrenia, researchers could eventually develop a screening strategy for the general population that would help identify people at high risk for schizophrenia before symptoms emerge.