Study: Smoking May Help Treat Schizophrenia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)—A new study suggests that smoking may have some benefits for people living with schizophrenia.
According to Medical News Today, the new study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, suggests that nicotine may be able to help schizophrenia patients.
Former research has linked schizophrenia to the decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Researchers from University of Colorado (CU) Boulder set out to understand the causes of "hypofrontality," a decreased neuronal activation of the prefrontal cortex.
Hypofrontality is believed to cause many of the cognitive problems associated with schizophrenia, including difficulty making decisions, focusing, or remembering things.
Researchers have previously linked schizophrenia to a mutation in the CHRNA5 gene. Previous studies have also found a link when it came to smoking.
Nearly 90 percent of people with schizophrenia smoke, most of them being heavy smokers, Medical News Today says reports.
So, to put it to the test, researchers at CU examined mice with the CHRNA5 gene.
Through brain imaging techniques, researchers found they also had hypofrontality.
According to the study, when researchers administered nicotine to these mice, it reversed the hypofrontality.
"Basically the nicotine is compensating for a genetically determined impairment," says Jerry Stitzel, a researcher at the Institute for Behavioral Genetics and one of the CU Boulder researchers. "No one has ever shown that before."
Researchers believe their findings also reveal a physiological basis for why schizophrenia patients tend to self-medicate by smoking.
"Our study provides compelling biological evidence that a specific genetic variant contributes to risk for schizophrenia, defines the mechanism responsible for the effect, and validates that nicotine improves that deficit."
Researcher hope to ultimately find a non-addictive, nicotine-based therapies for patients with schizophrenia.
To learn more about the study CLICK HERE.
