By S&PAA
Submitted by David E. Geiger, MEE, PE (RET.)
We are proud to announce that we have joined the Schizophrenia Spectrum Biomarkers Consortium, organized by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health to identify certain signs in the body that could help diagnose schizophrenia earlier and guide development of new treatments.
Schizophrenia is one of the most disabling medical conditions, yet we know little about what causes it, and there are no proven markers to assess a person’s risk of the disease or how (and how quickly) it will progress. Meanwhile, existing treatments for schizophrenia symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions can cause massive weight gain, diabetes and other severe side effects.
The Consortium seeks to identify biomarkers that can help unlock these diagnosis and treatment barriers.
Many people who live with schizophrenia have yet to find a medicine that works for them, leaving them unable to work or live independently and to suffer disabling and dangerous symptoms. We joined the Biomarkers Consortium because its work is critical to better understanding this severe brain disease.
If we can diagnose schizophrenia earlier and develop more effective treatments, we give people in our community a chance to survive – and thrive.
See the full announcement here.
The Biomarkers Consortium, founded in 2018, is led by the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at the Broad Institute in Boston, which is affiliated with Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.