Publications by authors named "Sean Halstead"
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.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: People with severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia-spectrum disorder and bipolar disorder, face poorer health outcomes from multiple chronic illnesses. Physical multimorbidity, the coexistence of two or more chronic physical conditions, and psychiatric multimorbidity, the coexistence of three or more psychiatric disorders, are both emerging concepts useful in conceptualising disease burden. However, the prevalence of physical and psychiatric multimorbidity in this cohort is unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle 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
Background: There is increasing evidence of immune dysregulation and neuroinflammation occurring in schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to combine studies on routine CSF parameters, as well as cytokines and inflammatory proteins, in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
Methods: CSF parameters were summated and inverse variance meta-analyses using a random effects model were performed comparing mean difference or odds ratios.
Making meaning of multimorbidity and severe mental illness: A viewpoint.
Aust N Z J Psychiatry
January 2024
Article Synopsis
- People with severe mental illnesses, like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, often have worse physical health compared to those without these conditions.
- The traditional disease-centered approach views their physical health issues as secondary to their mental condition, while a new patient-centered framework highlights the coexistence of multiple chronic illnesses.
- This article outlines the higher occurrence of these issues in individuals with severe mental illness, the serious consequences of this multimorbidity, and proposes a three-dimensional construct (quantity, severity, duration) to improve holistic healthcare for these individuals.
Background: Immune system dysfunction is considered to play an aetiological role in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, with substantial alterations in the concentrations of specific peripheral inflammatory proteins, such as cytokines. However, there are inconsistencies in the literature over which inflammatory proteins are altered throughout the course of illness. Through conducting a systematic review and network meta-analysis, this study aimed to investigate the patterns of alteration that peripheral inflammatory proteins undergo in both acute and chronic stages of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, relative to a healthy control population.
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