Publications by authors named "F U Raabe"
Importance: As an accessible part of the central nervous system, the retina provides a unique window to study pathophysiological mechanisms of brain disorders in humans. Imaging and electrophysiological studies have revealed retinal alterations across several neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, but it remains largely unclear which specific cell types and biological mechanisms are involved.
Objective: To determine whether specific retinal cell types are affected by genomic risk for neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders and to explore the mechanisms through which genomic risk converges in these cell types.
Previous studies have suggested that choroid plexus (ChP) enlargement occurs in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSD) and is associated with peripheral inflammation. However, it is unclear whether such an enlargement delineates a biologically defined subgroup of SSD. Moreover, it remains elusive how ChP is linked to brain regions associated with peripheral inflammation in SSD.
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- The study investigates the relationship between obesity and schizophrenia by comparing brain structures in patients with schizophrenia who have different waist circumferences.
- It finds that patients with higher waist circumference exhibit lower white matter integrity and cortical thickness in specific brain regions compared to healthy controls, while those with lower waist circumference also show reduced white matter integrity.
- Cognitive performance was notably worse in the patients with higher waist circumference, who also had higher triglyceride levels, highlighting potential neurocognitive deficits related to excessive abdominal obesity in schizophrenia.
Background: Optical coherence tomography and electroretinography studies have revealed structural and functional retinal alterations in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). However, it remains unclear which specific retinal layers are affected; how the retina, brain, and clinical symptomatology are connected; and how alterations of the visual system are related to genetic disease risk.
Methods: Optical coherence tomography, electroretinography, and brain magnetic resonance imaging were applied to comprehensively investigate the visual system in a cohort of 103 patients with SSDs and 130 healthy control individuals.
Article Synopsis
- - Neuroinflammation and disruption of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier may play significant roles in the development and symptom severity of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs), according to a large meta-analysis of first-episode psychosis and recent onset psychotic disorder individuals.
- - Data from 531 individuals showed that while cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) alterations were present in 38.8% of cases, no overall significant link between CSF changes and symptom severity was found; however, males with such alterations had higher positive symptom scores.
- - The study emphasizes that disruption of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier is common in early psychosis and suggests the importance of addressing this disruption along with sex-related differences