文章轉錄自Medical News Today（點此連結）；文章主要論述：精神分裂症的腦部變異機率可以藉著觀察剛出生幾週的嬰兒腦部預測得知，高機率的男嬰為較大的大腦與側腦室（lateral ventricle），而較大的大腦也常與自閉症有關；觀察女嬰大腦則沒有統計上顯著的大小差異，這與在精神分裂症中男性較為嚴重且普遍的現象相一致，此研究結果可以協助早期介入計畫的可能。就此不論，研究假設與統計檢測上可能的瑕疵，如果能在嬰兒時期就能掌握大腦發展狀況，的確是有可能減少器質性（生物性）上所衍生的精神疾病；只是為人父母的你，一旦知道你襁褓中的孩子「有機率」得到哪些病症時，會如何反應呢？譬如，醫生告訴你，你的孩子有可能擁有同性戀的大腦、犯罪反社會人格的大腦、精神分裂症的大腦時，你會怎麼做？又該怎麼做？
Brain Signs Of Schizophrenia Found In Babies
22
Jun 2010
Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder affecting one in 100
people worldwide. Most cases aren't detected until a person starts
experiencing symptoms like delusions and hallucinations as a teenager or
adult. By that time, the disease has often progressed so far that it
can be difficult to treat.
In a paper published recently online by the American Journal of
Psychiatry, researchers at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and Columbia University provide the first evidence that
brain abnormalities associated with schizophrenia risk are detectable in
babies only a few weeks old.
"It allows us to start thinking about how we can identify kids at risk
for schizophrenia very early and whether there things that we can do
very early on to lessen the risk," said lead study author John H.
Gilmore, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the UNC
Schizophrenia Research Center.
The scientists used ultrasound and MRI to examine brain development in
26 babies born to mothers with schizophrenia. Having a first-degree
relative with the disease raises a person's risk of schizophrenia to one
in 10. Among boys, the high-risk babies had larger brains and larger
lateral ventricles-fluid-filled spaces in the brain-than babies of
mothers with no psychiatric illness.
"Could it be that enlargement is an early marker of a brain that's going
to be different?" Gilmore speculated. Larger brain size in infants is
also associated with autism.
The researchers found no difference in brain size among girls in the
study. This fits the overall pattern of schizophrenia, which is more
common, and often more severe, in males.
The findings do not necessarily mean the boys with larger brains will
develop schizophrenia. Relatives of people with schizophrenia sometimes
have subtle brain abnormalities but exhibit few or no symptoms.
"This is just the very beginning," said Gilmore. "We're following these
children through childhood." The team will continue to measure the
children's brains and will also track their language skills, motor
skills and memory development. They will also continue to recruit women
to the study to increase the sample size.
This research provides the first indication that brain abnormalities
associated with schizophrenia can be detected early in life. Improving
early detection could allow doctors to develop new approaches to prevent
high-risk children from developing the disease. "The research will give
us a better sense of when brain development becomes different," said
Gilmore. "And that will help us target interventions."
The paper is available now online and will be published in the September
issue of the journal. The study was funded by grants from the National
Institute of Mental Health and the Foundation of Hope.
In addition to Gilmore, authors of the study were Chaeryon Kang, Dianne
D. Evans, Honor M. Wolfe, J. Keith Smith, Weili Lin, Robert M. Hamer,
Martin Styner, and Guido Gerig. Author Jeffrey A. Lieberman, chairs the
Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University.
Source:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of
Medicine
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