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Brains Wanted

Researchers hoping to clarify the neurological basis of schizophrenia are looking for brain bequests from patients with the condition.

The Auckland Medical School anatomists hope to be able to identify exactly which brain cells and chemicals are affected in schizophrenia.

There is considerable evidence to suggest that cells in specific areas of the schizophrenic brain die off, leading to a depletion in the vital neurotransmitters which the cells use to communicate.

By identifying which cells lose function and which neurotransmitters are affected, the researchers hope to be able to treat the condition more effectively with specific targeted drugs.

Such an approach has already proved efficacious with other neurological conditions such as Parkinson's Disease. In the latter, patients lose cells which use dopamine as a neurotransmitter. Marked improvements in the symptoms of the disease have been produced by using drugs to "top up" the amount of dopamine. Huntingdon's and Alzheimer's Diseases are two other degenerative diseases which are also showing responses to such an approach. There are around 70-80 different neurotransmitters in the brain.

Associate Professor Richard Faull says that the techniques used to seek out and identify the neurological differences are extremely sophisticated.

Treatment procedures can be controversial, however. In the case of Huntingdon's Disease, the transplant of fetal cells provides an innovative and progressive way of treating the neurological disorder, says Faull.

Public education concerning the procedure is one way of dealing with the concerns raised, and Faull says that public support for the research is needed.

"We're very much in the early stages," says Faull. "It takes two to three years to get going to raise the awareness amongst the community of patients and carers."

Because of the nature of the study, the researchers need to have the brain tissue as soon as possible after death, and are calling for bequests from patients dying with schizophrenia.