 |
 |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skin patch might detect schizophrenia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- LONDON (October 16, 1997 00:58 a.m. EDT http://www.nando.net) - Scottish doctors are working on a skin patch which might identify people with schizophrenia, New Scientist magazine said on Thursday. Although the technique still needs to be perfected, they believe it could help doctors to diagnose the puzzling condition and make it easier for people to accept that they have it. "This is delineating fairly sensitively an abnormal pathway in schizophrenia. It a simple skin test which may be of assistance in the diagnosis," said Iain Glen, one of the doctors at the Craig Dunain Hospital in Inverness who have been working on the patch. "It's the first time the skin has been used, as far as we are aware, in this approach." So far 38 schizophrenics and 22 healthy volunteers have been tested with the skin patch. More than 80 percent of the people with the condition reacted as expected to the test. Glen believes the skin patch could be used as part of a clinical assessment and evaluation for doctors to help them detect the disease. The skin test measures the methyl ester of niacin. A paper strip impregnated with methyl nicotinate, a derivative of the B vitamin niacin is placed on the skin. In a healthy person it will cause a red skin reaction but the skin of schizophrenics does not react as strongly. Studies have shown that the cell membranes of schizophrenics have a reduced amount of arachidonic and other essential fatty acids which produce a compound called prostaglandin D2 that causes the skin reaction. Glen and his colleagues are testing various concentrations of methyl nicotinate to improve the results. "We are still playing around with the dilutions and exposure times," he said. Schizophrenia, a condition which acts on the chemistry of the brain, is the most common form of severe mental illness. Its precise cause is still unknown. Copyright 1997 Nando.net Copyright 1997 Reuters http://www.nando.net/newsroom/ntn/health/101697/health34_9447_noframes.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask]