Despite years of medical research, schizophrenia remains one of the most mysterious, severe and chronic illnesses of all times with no definite cure so far. Now, a recent research indicates the self-repair ability of the brain in patients suffering from schizophrenia, a property that can potentially help design a new treatment strategy.
A joint team of researchers from China and the United Kingdom has come up with an unusual finding about the disease, which is expected to enhance their understanding of schizophrenia. The researchers are hopeful that their study findings would help clear the age-old misunderstandings associated with the manifestation of the disease.
During the recent study, the researchers specifically looked at the MRI scans of the schizophrenic patients. The team noted that while their overall brain volume reduced, there was a certain amount of increase in the brain matter present in specific areas of the brain, according to the study published online in the journal Psychology Medicine.
"Our results highlight that despite the severity of tissue damage, the brain of a patient with schizophrenia is constantly attempting to reorganize itself, possibly to rescue itself or limit the damage," Dr. Lena Palaniyappan, an author on the study from Lawson Health Research Institute in Canada, said in a press statement.
The researchers used a technique called "covariance analysis" to record and compare the changes in the brain volume and brain tissue of schizophrenic patients and normal normal individuals.
Palaniyappan further said that there is a long-standing notion that it is not possible to treat people who suffer from severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Even the most advanced form of medical treatments aims to reduce the severity of the condition rather than to target the reversal of cognitive and functional disability caused by it.
This is because professional from the field of medical sciences have long believed that the seed for such mental illnesses is sown early during the development of the brain. However, the latest research proves that irrespective of the damage to the tissue, the brain of schizophrenics constantly tries to heal and repair itself through reorganization.
The research team is now planning to study the reorganization of the brain tissue in schizophrenics by tracking the brain changes in patients. The team would like to see how reorganization helps the patient recover from the condition.
The following video examines what it feels like to live with schizophrenia: