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NAMI San Francisco | |||
| An Affiliate of NAMI the National Alliance on Mental Illness |
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| Out of the Fog Newsletter |
| Out of The Fog is a monthly newsletter published by NAMI-San Francisco. |
February 2010 Out of the Fog:
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| 1. January Meeting Notes: Ask the Doctor Night with Damien Rose, M.D. download article |
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By Roberta K. Kaye Dr. Damien Rose is a psychiatrist at UCSF-Langley Porter Clinic where he completed his residency in 2006. He was attracted to UCSF's strong clinical training program, which provided varied experiences in the field. In particular he became very interested in the syndrome that we call schizophrenia, thinking about it from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience, that is, thinking about the brain as it develops through adolescence into adulthood. What are the processes that occur during that time and why would these things we call psychotic symptoms tend to develop around that time? Further, how should they be described and treated? A question period followed this background presentation |
2. City in Peril! |
NAMI-SF and Mental Health Board San Francisco cannot afford the high cost of failing to treat mental illness. When we cut needed services for people with severe mental illness, we end up paying at our hospitals, in the streets, and in our jails. Come and hear what works from front-line doctors, police officers, jail staff, homeless advocates, Behavioral Health Court staff, and recovered consumers. Please bring everyone you know so our presence will be felt. Smart Care can save lives and money! If you can’t make it to the meeting, please write or email your comments to our office (info on back page) - we’ll try to share those at the meeting.
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3. Before Or After Birth, Gene Linked To Mental Health Has Different Effects |
Source: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 1/5/10 Scientists have long eyed mutations in a gene known as DISC1 as a possible contributor to schizophrenia and mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder. Now, new research led by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that perturbing this gene during prenatal periods, postnatal periods or both may have different effects in mice, leading to separate types of brain alterations and behaviors with resemblance to schizophrenia or mood disorders.The findings, reported online Jan. 5 in Molecular Psychiatry, could eventually help researchers treat mental illness in people or even prevent it. To manipulate DISC1 expression during different periods, the researchers, led by Associate Professor Mikhail Pletnikov, M.D., Ph.D., crafted a novel mouse model in which a mutant form of the gene could be turned off by feeding the animals small amounts of the antibiotic doxycycline in their chow. The animals could get the drug directly by eating it or through their mothers during gestation. Withdrawing doxycycline turned this gene on. (All the animals also carried the normal DISC1 gene, which wasn't affected by the drug.) Using this model, Pletnikov's team generated four groups of mice: those that expressed mutant DISC1 prenatally (Pre), those that expressed mutant DISC1 postnatally (Post), those that expressed it during both periods (Pre+Post), and those that never expressed it (NO). When the mice were about 2 months old, the researchers put the animals through a battery of behavioral tests designed to measure characteristics similar to schizophrenia and depression in humans, such as abnormal social interactions and heightened aggression under stress, comparing these animals with "control" animals that didn't express the mutant gene. Because previous studies have shown that male mice with mutant DISC1 have such altered traits, the researchers tested male mice in each of the groups by placing them in a cage with a normal male mouse and allowing them to mingle for 10 minutes. They counted various social behaviors, including sniffing, following and attacks. Pletnikov and his colleagues found that the Pre+Post and Post groups spent significantly less time in non-aggressive social interaction with their partners than the mice of the NO group. Those in the Pre+Post group also demonstrated significantly more aggressive attacks on their partners than control mice that did not express mutant DISC1. To look for behaviors reflecting depression, the researchers gave animals of both sexes in all the groups a forced swim test and a tail suspension test. In both tests, the animals participated in unpleasant activities - being made to swim in a pool, or being lifted by their tails - and were timed for how long they struggled. Mice thought to exhibit depression-like behavior spend more time immobile than non-depressed mice. Pletnikov's team found that only female mice of the Post group spent significantly more time immobile in the forced swim test than mice that did not express mutant DISC1. Female mice in the Pre+Post group spent significantly more time immobile in the tail suspension test than control mice . Male mice in each of the groups displayed similar behavior in these tests. Finally, when the researchers examined the brains of the mice, they found significant differences between animals in different groups. Those in the Pre group had significantly smaller brain volume than the other mice. Mice in the Post and Pre+Post groups had significantly larger lateral ventricles and decreased content of dopamine, a pleasure-producing brain chemical, in the frontal cortex. Both female and male mice in the Pre, Post and Pre+Post groups had fewer neurons that produce GABA, a brain chemical that regulates nerve cell firing, than mice in the NO group. The researchers say both the behavioral and physiological findings suggest that expressing mutant DISC1 at different time points during fetal or early childhood development can lead to different outcomes. While selective prenatal expression led to smaller brain volumes but mild behavioral effects, pre- and postnatal expression led to behaviors and brain alterations in male mice similar to schizophrenic humans, and postnatal expression produced abnormalities in female mice similar to depression. ; The researchers aren't sure why the animals varied according to sex. However, Pletnikov notes, schizophrenia and depression also vary between the sexes in humans, with schizophrenia more prevalent in males and depression more prevalent in females. He and his team plan to study these sex-related differences in future studies. The team also plans to try to narrow the time periods in which mutant DISC1 is turned on in their model to study particular stages, such as early postnatal development, sexual maturity, adulthood and aging, since triggers at each of these stages might bring on mental illness. The goal, says Pletnikov, is to use these findings to develop new therapies to treat psychiatric disorders. "Right now," he says, "we cannot treat or reverse all the abnormalities associated with schizophrenia or major mood disorders, but our research gives us hope that we can eventually target some of these abnormalities that are currently considered incurable. If we catch these problems early enough, we may someday be able to prevent schizophrenia or depression from developing." This study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, Autism Speaks, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, and the Mortimer W. Sackler Foundation. Other Johns Hopkins researchers who participated in this study include Yavuz Ayhan, M.D.; Bagrat Abazyan, M.D.; Jun Nomura, Ph.D.; Roy Kim; Akira Sawa, M.D., Ph.D.; Russell L. Margolis, M.D; and Christopher A. Ross, M.D., Ph.D. |
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4. Family To Family Class Starting In February |
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To enroll in the class, please call the hotline, 415-905-6264, and leave your name and phone number, or email the NAMI San Francisco office at namisf@fsasf.org, and you will be contacted by one of the teachers. What does the course include? * Current information about schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder (manic depression), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, borderline personality disorder, and co-occurring brain disorders and addictive disorders
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5. Social Security
Administration Hearing
in San Francisco
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In San Francisco on November 18, 2009, the Social Security Administration held a hearing on the subject of compassionate allowances for people with schizophrenia in an effort to figure out a way to get people who do not know about or acknowledge their illness, but are showing all the symptoms that indicate they have the disease, to get started on SSI or SSDI as quickly as possible. This hearing was absolutely stunning for me. They are my heroes and Social Security seems to me to be the only institution (besides NAMI) that gets what we and our loved ones are going through You can either watch videos of this hearing on their website, or download and read the testimony that was given that day. Take special notice of Dr. Kenneth Duckworth, Medical Director for NAMI National, and our own members: Eileen Lemus, Noah King and Dale Milfay. You can get there by entering the following site in the http: box on your computer, or go to www.SSA.gov and use their search box for compassionate allowances hearings. www.socialsecurity.gov/ compassionateallowances/hearings111809.htm |
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6. URGENT:
Budget Proposal Threatens MHSA Funds
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At this time, we have a matter of great urgency. The Governor is proposing placing Proposition 63 on the ballot again in June in order to allow for the supplantation of funds from the Mental Health Services Act to cover existing mental health services. We only have until March 1 when the legislature's special session ends and we need continued family member and consumer support to fight this proposal. Please go to the state NAMI web site, www.namicalifornia.org for more information. |
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7. Volunteer and Part Time Job Opportunities
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There are some volunteer and paid opportunities in the NAMI San Francisco Office If you have time and some skills, especially Recent Local Finds: If you're looking for helpful therapy, try these books by Jon Kabat-Zinn! The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness and Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. I just discovered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, offered at Haight Ashbury Psych Services. I took a daylong workshop with Lee Lipp, PhD. For meditation, check out www.sfinsight.org. |
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8. SF Bay Area NAMIWALK
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SF Bay Area NAMIWALK Saturday, May 22, 2010 Join thousands of NAMI walkers as we raise awareness & funds for our FREE mental health programs in: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Solano counties |
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NAMI-San Francisco is a non-profit, California corporation
415-905-NAMI (6264)
1010 Gough Street
San Francisco, CA 94109
NAMISF@fsasf.org
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Out of the Fog 2010 2009
2008
2006 |
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