We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Dysfunctional Neural Synapses Could Trigger Schizophrenia

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 20 Jan 2020
Print article
Image: Protein deficiency in neural synapses could explain schizophrenia (Photo courtesy of KCL)
Image: Protein deficiency in neural synapses could explain schizophrenia (Photo courtesy of KCL)
A new positron emission tomography (PET) study suggests that reduced levels of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) could underlie the cognitive difficulties seen in schizophrenia.

Researchers at Imperial College London (Imperial; United Kingdom), Invicro Imaging Services (London, United Kingdom), King’s College London (KCL; United Kingdom), and other institutions, performed PET scans in 18 adults suffering from schizophrenia at the London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS; United Kingdom) and compared them to 18 people without schizophrenia. The researchers used a tracer that binds to SV2A, which has been shown to be a good marker of the density of synaptic nerve endings in the brain.

The results showed significant group and group-by-region interaction effects on volume of distribution (VT), which was significantly lower in the frontal and anterior cingulate cortices in schizophrenia with large effect sizes, but there was no significant difference in the hippocampus. The researchers also investigated the effects of antipsychotic drug administration on SV2A levels in Sprague-Dawley rats, but found no significant effects on any measure. According to the researchers, the findings indicate lower SV2A levels in schizophrenia, and that antipsychotic drugs are unlikely to account for them. The study was published on January 14, 2020, in Nature Communications.

“Our lab at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences is one of the few places in the world with this new tracer. We've been able for the first time to show there are lower levels of a synaptic protein in people with schizophrenia,” said lead author Professor Oliver Howes, of LMS and KCL. “This suggests that loss of synapses could underlie the development of schizophrenia. We need to develop new treatments for schizophrenia; this protein SV2A could be a target for new treatments to restore synaptic function.”

Synaptic dysfunction is central to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Genetic studies have found associations between schizophrenia and variants in genes encoding synaptic proteins. A polymorphism in the SV2A gene has been associated with increased schizophrenia risk, although this finding has not been replicated in genome-wide association studies.

Related Links:
Imperial College London
Invicro Imaging Services
King’s College London
London Institute of Medical Sciences

Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
MRI System
uMR 588
New
Portable Radiology System
DRAGON ELITE & CLASSIC
New
Ultrasound Software
UltraExtend NX

Print article

Channels

Radiography

view channel
:	Image: The AI model could be a valuable adjunct to human radiologists in breast cancer diagnoses and risk prediction (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

AI Model Predicts 5-Year Breast Cancer Risk from Mammograms

Approximately 13% of U.S. women, or one in every eight, are predicted to develop invasive breast cancer over their lifetime, with 1 in 39 women (3%) succumbing to the illness, according to the American... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: The AI system uses scintigraphy imaging for early diagnosis of cardiac amyloidosis (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

AI System Automatically and Reliably Detects Cardiac Amyloidosis Using Scintigraphy Imaging

Cardiac amyloidosis, a condition characterized by the buildup of abnormal protein deposits (amyloids) in the heart muscle, severely affects heart function and can lead to heart failure or death without... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more

Industry News

view channel
Image: Samsung Medison CEO Mr. Yongkwan Kim and Bracco Imaging CEO Dr. Fulvio Renoldi Bracco endorsed a MoU agreement (Photo courtesy of Bracco Group)

Samsung and Bracco Enter Into New Diagnostic Ultrasound Technology Agreement

Samsung Medison (Seoul, South Korea) and Bracco Imaging (Milan, Italy) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement to pioneer a new area for diagnostic ultrasound devices and contrast agents.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.