01 Increased Levels of Hormone Testosterone in Women May Cause Brain Disorder That Can Lead to Blindness, Study Reveals.
The study, led by the University of Birmingham in Britain, showed that excess testosterone leads to Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) — high pressure in the brain — resulting in blindness and daily long-term headaches in women.
The findings showed that women with IIH had raised levels of testosterone compared to those with obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
The hormones were also found to be increased in the brain fluid of women with IIH.
“These findings mark a key step forward. For the first time we have found a pattern of androgen dysregulation that is unique to IIH and potentially a driver of abnormal brain pressure in people with the condition,” said Alex Sinclair, Researcher from the varsity.
“Taken together this provides the first evidence that IIH may be a manifestation of female androgen excess,” Sinclair added.
Originally identified over 100 years ago, the cause of IIH has remained unknown yet, despite speculation about why more than 95 per cent of the total incidence is in women with obesity.
For the study, published in the journal JCI Insight, the team examined the levels of testosterone in blood and urine, as well as in brain fluid known as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), in 55 women aged 18 to 45 years with IIH.
They then compared the results with the levels observed in women with obesity of the same age and body mass index (BMI), as well as a cohort of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
PCOS is known to be associated with increased levels of specific types of androgens, which can cause excess hair and irregular periods
The study, led by the University of Birmingham in Britain, showed that excess testosterone leads to Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH) — high pressure in the brain — resulting in blindness and daily long-term headaches in women.
The findings showed that women with IIH had raised levels of testosterone compared to those with obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
The hormones were also found to be increased in the brain fluid of women with IIH.
“These findings mark a key step forward. For the first time we have found a pattern of androgen dysregulation that is unique to IIH and potentially a driver of abnormal brain pressure in people with the condition,” said Alex Sinclair, Researcher from the varsity.
“Taken together this provides the first evidence that IIH may be a manifestation of female androgen excess,” Sinclair added.
Originally identified over 100 years ago, the cause of IIH has remained unknown yet, despite speculation about why more than 95 per cent of the total incidence is in women with obesity.
For the study, published in the journal JCI Insight, the team examined the levels of testosterone in blood and urine, as well as in brain fluid known as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), in 55 women aged 18 to 45 years with IIH.
They then compared the results with the levels observed in women with obesity of the same age and body mass index (BMI), as well as a cohort of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
PCOS is known to be associated with increased levels of specific types of androgens, which can cause excess hair and irregular periods
02 Having one mental health disorder increases your risks of getting another
New studies reveal that most psychiatric illnesses are related to one another. Tracing these connections, like the mapping of a river system, promises to help define the main cause of these disorders and the drugs that could alleviate their symptoms.
The Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register is an enormous treasure trove of clinical data documenting every hospitalization for mental illness in Denmark over the course of 16 years.
In a recent study published in January 2019, Oleguer Plana-Ripoll from Aarhus University in Denmark and his colleagues analyzed records from close to six million Danes. They found that being affected with one mental disorder increased the risk of developing another — pointing to their possible relatedness.
For example, when young women were diagnosed with a mood disorder such as depression before age 20, they had a high risk of developing another disorder such as obsessive-compulsive disorder within the next five years.
The authors provided an interactive web-based tool to help clinicians and researchers see the connections among all types of psychiatric illness in the NB-COMO project.
A canary in the psychiatric coalmine
This clinical study followed on the heels of a paper published in Science magazine last year by the large international collaborative group called the Brainstorm Consortium.
Using new statistical methods, these researchers showed that there is a surprising connectivity among people with different mental illnesses at the level of their inherited, genetic backgrounds.
Research shows that many psychiatric disorders can be downstream of one common disturbance early in fetal development. (Shutterstock)
They studied a quarter of a million patients and found there was a core cluster of similar genetic variations that showed up in all patients, regardless of the kind of illness they were diagnosed with.
This cluster heralded an increased risk for most disorders and, like a canary in the coalmine, constituted a warning system for the future risk of any psychiatric disorder including major depressive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
A common disturbance in fetal development
In March 2019, Andrew Schork and colleagues of the Institute of Biological Psychiatry in Denmark published a paper in Nature Neuroscience. They used the iPSYCH study, which is linked to the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register and contains one of the largest number of psychiatric patients with detailed genetic backgrounds in the world.
The results of the Schork study confirmed the findings of the Brainstorm Consortium project and reinforced that idea that variations in a common genetic cluster raises the risk for most psychiatric disorders. They also gained insight into how that might happen.
They found that the level of activity of genes in this common cluster normally shapes how the fetal brain develops into the mature brain. These genes are most active in progenitor cell types of the fetus, which are cells that give rise to the more specialized neuronal networks that are responsible for mood and creative thought in children and adults.
Essentially, if the activities of the genes in the common cluster are not regulated properly at the beginning, in the early days of the developing brain, then multiple specialized mental functions could be affected later in life.
Research from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register may revitalize mental health treatment. (Unsplash/Cristina Newman), CC BY
This model may explain why all psychiatric illnesses are connected — because all of these single disorders are downstream of a common perturbation that occurred early in fetal development. This idea will certainly be tested aggressively in the next few years.
A paradigm shift in drug discovery
Of course, superimposed on inherited risk is the influence of environmental factors on individual susceptibilities for mental illness.
We are still learning about how our life history of dietary habits, past infections, medications and traumas interact with susceptibilities encoded by our genetic backgrounds. So it will take some time before the findings of the studies of the Brainstorm Consortium and iPSYCH will be translated to changes in clinical care.
But the concept of a shared inheritable risk underlying mental illnesses could lead to a paradigm shift in drug discovery and development, as researchers look for drugs that target a root cause and ameliorate the symptoms of multiple mental illnesses
The theme for the 2019 meeting of the American Psychiatry Association is “Revitalize Psychiatry: Disrupt, include, engage and innovate.” Maybe we are witnessing the first steps toward such revitalize
New studies reveal that most psychiatric illnesses are related to one another. Tracing these connections, like the mapping of a river system, promises to help define the main cause of these disorders and the drugs that could alleviate their symptoms.
The Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register is an enormous treasure trove of clinical data documenting every hospitalization for mental illness in Denmark over the course of 16 years.
In a recent study published in January 2019, Oleguer Plana-Ripoll from Aarhus University in Denmark and his colleagues analyzed records from close to six million Danes. They found that being affected with one mental disorder increased the risk of developing another — pointing to their possible relatedness.
For example, when young women were diagnosed with a mood disorder such as depression before age 20, they had a high risk of developing another disorder such as obsessive-compulsive disorder within the next five years.
The authors provided an interactive web-based tool to help clinicians and researchers see the connections among all types of psychiatric illness in the NB-COMO project.
A canary in the psychiatric coalmine
This clinical study followed on the heels of a paper published in Science magazine last year by the large international collaborative group called the Brainstorm Consortium.
Using new statistical methods, these researchers showed that there is a surprising connectivity among people with different mental illnesses at the level of their inherited, genetic backgrounds.
Research shows that many psychiatric disorders can be downstream of one common disturbance early in fetal development. (Shutterstock)
They studied a quarter of a million patients and found there was a core cluster of similar genetic variations that showed up in all patients, regardless of the kind of illness they were diagnosed with.
This cluster heralded an increased risk for most disorders and, like a canary in the coalmine, constituted a warning system for the future risk of any psychiatric disorder including major depressive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
A common disturbance in fetal development
In March 2019, Andrew Schork and colleagues of the Institute of Biological Psychiatry in Denmark published a paper in Nature Neuroscience. They used the iPSYCH study, which is linked to the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register and contains one of the largest number of psychiatric patients with detailed genetic backgrounds in the world.
The results of the Schork study confirmed the findings of the Brainstorm Consortium project and reinforced that idea that variations in a common genetic cluster raises the risk for most psychiatric disorders. They also gained insight into how that might happen.
They found that the level of activity of genes in this common cluster normally shapes how the fetal brain develops into the mature brain. These genes are most active in progenitor cell types of the fetus, which are cells that give rise to the more specialized neuronal networks that are responsible for mood and creative thought in children and adults.
Essentially, if the activities of the genes in the common cluster are not regulated properly at the beginning, in the early days of the developing brain, then multiple specialized mental functions could be affected later in life.
Research from the Danish Psychiatric Central Research Register may revitalize mental health treatment. (Unsplash/Cristina Newman), CC BY
This model may explain why all psychiatric illnesses are connected — because all of these single disorders are downstream of a common perturbation that occurred early in fetal development. This idea will certainly be tested aggressively in the next few years.
A paradigm shift in drug discovery
Of course, superimposed on inherited risk is the influence of environmental factors on individual susceptibilities for mental illness.
We are still learning about how our life history of dietary habits, past infections, medications and traumas interact with susceptibilities encoded by our genetic backgrounds. So it will take some time before the findings of the studies of the Brainstorm Consortium and iPSYCH will be translated to changes in clinical care.
But the concept of a shared inheritable risk underlying mental illnesses could lead to a paradigm shift in drug discovery and development, as researchers look for drugs that target a root cause and ameliorate the symptoms of multiple mental illnesses
The theme for the 2019 meeting of the American Psychiatry Association is “Revitalize Psychiatry: Disrupt, include, engage and innovate.” Maybe we are witnessing the first steps toward such revitalize
03 Amy Schumer’s Husband Had “Early Signs” of Autism Spectrum Disorder Before Diagnosis.
Walter McBrideGetty Images
In Amy Schumer’s new comedy special Growing, she reveals her husband Chris Fischer has autism spectrum disorder, which affects a person’s communication and behavior.
Schumer says there were “some signs early on,” like the fact that Fischer reacted in an unusual way once when she fell down.
Doctors explain what autism spectrum disorder is, how to spot the symptoms, and how it differs in adults compared to children.
In Amy Schumer’s new Netflix comedy special Growing, she reveals a lot about her pregnancy and marriage. One of the most surprising bits? Her 39-year-old husband Chris Fischer has autism spectrum disorder.
“I knew from the beginning that my husband’s brain was a little different than mine,” Schumer said of Fischer, per ET. “My husband was diagnosed with what used to be called Asperger’s. He has autism spectrum disorder. He’s on the spectrum.”
Schumer, who is expecting her first child with Fischer at 37, says there were “some signs early on,” like the fact that he reacted in an unusual way once when she fell down. “Once he was diagnosed, it dawned on me how funny it was, because all of the characteristics that make it clear that he’s on the spectrum are all of the reasons that I fell madly in love with him,” she continued. “That’s the truth. He says whatever is on his mind. He keeps it so real. He doesn’t care about social norms or what you expect him to say or do.”
In a recent Instagram post, Schumer also made it very clear that his unwavering support has meant the world to her. “Thank you to my husband, Chris who has kept me going during this pregnancy. His willingness and desire to be open with the world about himself and our marriage is courageous and beautiful. He makes me laugh more than anyone and he laughs at me more than anyone.”
Not exactly sure what autism spectrum disorder is? Here, doctors explain how to spot the symptoms and what a diagnosis means for your day-to-day life.
What is autism spectrum disorder and what do the symptoms look like?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects a person’s communication and behavior, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). People with ASD can have a wide range of symptoms, but they typically have difficulty communicating and interacting with other people, have “restricted” interests and repetitive behaviors, as well as symptoms that can interfere with their ability to do well in school and work. Those can include not looking at or listening well to people, being slow to respond, having trouble with making conversation, and having facial expressions and reactions that don’t match what’s being said, the NIMH says.
How is autism spectrum disorder different in adults?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be screened for ASD and symptoms usually show up in the first two years of life, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, it’s possible to be diagnosed at any age and even in adulthood, like Fischer. “We are finding more adults who might have had another diagnosis or none at all be diagnosed as being impacted by autism,” says Scott Badesch, president of the Autism Society of America.
“Symptoms of autism are varied in severity and the types of issues it can cause,” says Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, a neurologist and neuroscientist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “That’s why some people can go undetected into adulthood.” Some people with autism also have strengths in some areas that can overshadow their symptoms, making it less likely that they’ll be diagnosed at an earlier age, Dr. Kesari says.
It can also be difficult to diagnose ASD in adults because some symptoms of ASD can overlap with symptoms of other mental health disorders like anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Dr. Kesari says. “It’s a little hard to eke out an ASD diagnosis in some cases with adults,” he says.
What happens after an adult is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder?
Overall, getting a proper ASD diagnosis—even as an adult—is a positive thing, Dr. Kesari says.
There’s no cure for ASD, but “there are many ways to help a person with autism achieve their highest quality of life,” Badesch says. Every person is different, but that may mean making other loved ones aware of the diagnosis so that they can better understand why a person acts a certain way, and learn to react accordingly, Dr. Kesari says. “In terms of interacting with these patients, there can be certain ways to do things to better manage symptoms,” he says.
There isn’t a one size fits all treatment for ASD, but some people may end up taking medication for anxiety, depression, or mood changes that can come along with having ASD, Dr. Kesari says.
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Korin Miller Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more
Walter McBrideGetty Images
In Amy Schumer’s new comedy special Growing, she reveals her husband Chris Fischer has autism spectrum disorder, which affects a person’s communication and behavior.
In Amy Schumer’s new Netflix comedy special Growing, she reveals a lot about her pregnancy and marriage. One of the most surprising bits? Her 39-year-old husband Chris Fischer has autism spectrum disorder.
“I knew from the beginning that my husband’s brain was a little different than mine,” Schumer said of Fischer, per ET. “My husband was diagnosed with what used to be called Asperger’s. He has autism spectrum disorder. He’s on the spectrum.”
Schumer, who is expecting her first child with Fischer at 37, says there were “some signs early on,” like the fact that he reacted in an unusual way once when she fell down. “Once he was diagnosed, it dawned on me how funny it was, because all of the characteristics that make it clear that he’s on the spectrum are all of the reasons that I fell madly in love with him,” she continued. “That’s the truth. He says whatever is on his mind. He keeps it so real. He doesn’t care about social norms or what you expect him to say or do.”
In a recent Instagram post, Schumer also made it very clear that his unwavering support has meant the world to her. “Thank you to my husband, Chris who has kept me going during this pregnancy. His willingness and desire to be open with the world about himself and our marriage is courageous and beautiful. He makes me laugh more than anyone and he laughs at me more than anyone.”
Not exactly sure what autism spectrum disorder is? Here, doctors explain how to spot the symptoms and what a diagnosis means for your day-to-day life.
What is autism spectrum disorder and what do the symptoms look like?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that affects a person’s communication and behavior, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). People with ASD can have a wide range of symptoms, but they typically have difficulty communicating and interacting with other people, have “restricted” interests and repetitive behaviors, as well as symptoms that can interfere with their ability to do well in school and work. Those can include not looking at or listening well to people, being slow to respond, having trouble with making conversation, and having facial expressions and reactions that don’t match what’s being said, the NIMH says.
How is autism spectrum disorder different in adults?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children be screened for ASD and symptoms usually show up in the first two years of life, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, it’s possible to be diagnosed at any age and even in adulthood, like Fischer. “We are finding more adults who might have had another diagnosis or none at all be diagnosed as being impacted by autism,” says Scott Badesch, president of the Autism Society of America.
“Symptoms of autism are varied in severity and the types of issues it can cause,” says Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, a neurologist and neuroscientist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “That’s why some people can go undetected into adulthood.” Some people with autism also have strengths in some areas that can overshadow their symptoms, making it less likely that they’ll be diagnosed at an earlier age, Dr. Kesari says.
It can also be difficult to diagnose ASD in adults because some symptoms of ASD can overlap with symptoms of other mental health disorders like anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Dr. Kesari says. “It’s a little hard to eke out an ASD diagnosis in some cases with adults,” he says.
What happens after an adult is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder?
Overall, getting a proper ASD diagnosis—even as an adult—is a positive thing, Dr. Kesari says.
There’s no cure for ASD, but “there are many ways to help a person with autism achieve their highest quality of life,” Badesch says. Every person is different, but that may mean making other loved ones aware of the diagnosis so that they can better understand why a person acts a certain way, and learn to react accordingly, Dr. Kesari says. “In terms of interacting with these patients, there can be certain ways to do things to better manage symptoms,” he says.
There isn’t a one size fits all treatment for ASD, but some people may end up taking medication for anxiety, depression, or mood changes that can come along with having ASD, Dr. Kesari says.
FOLLOW PREVENTION ON INSTAGRAM
Korin Miller Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more
Types of Brain Disorders
Reviewed by admin
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March 25, 2019
Rating: 5
Reviewed by admin
on
March 25, 2019
Rating: 5
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