London, October 2015: Over the last few years, a number of brain PET scans were performed at Imanova's Imaging Facility to link the inflammation in the brain to schizophrenia. Fifty-six volunteers took part in the study including those already diagnosed with schizophrenia, those at risk of the disease and those with symptoms of the disorder. They found that activity levels of microglia in the brain increased according to the severity of the symptoms and that people diagnosed with the conditions had high levels of these immune cells in the brain.
Brain Translocator Protein (TSPO) function – An imaging study to investigate activated microglial and brain function in the development of psychotic disorders.” was published today in the American Journal of Psychiatry, and is the first to find that immune cells are more active in the brains of people at risk of schizophrenia as well as those already diagnosed with the disease.
“Our findings are particularly exciting because it was previously unknown whether these cells become active before or after onset of the disease.", said Peter Bloomfield. “Now we have shown this early involvement, mechanisms of the disease and new medications can hopefully be uncovered.”
Imanova is excited to be part of the study and the possible treatment for mental health, much of which is decades old, could benefit from the study's findings.
For detailed report, visit http://bit.ly/1ZHzs5q.