Psychiatric Disorders: Is this discovery a game-changing moment?

Why can we not do more to address psychiatric disorders? We have always regretted the lack of a robust model which links biological cause to behaviour (LSS 11 5 22;14 9 24 et al) Without this treatment can never achieve the same efficacy as it has for thousands of “physical” disorders such as infectious diseases, cancers or deficiency diseases.

Today It is our earnest hope that all this may be about to change. Read this Hidden links between psychiatric condition from Nature Briefing

DNA data from more than one million people suggests that the genetic risk factors linked to many psychiatric conditions fall into five clusters that cut across current diagnostic boundaries. For example, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, which are classified as separate conditions, both fall into the neurodevelopmental category. The findings hint that the fact that people tend to be diagnosed with multiple disorders at once is a reflection of shared underlying biology, and could help to create a more biologically based way of understanding psychiatric conditions.

Nature | 5 min read
Reference: Nature paper

If this work can be confirmed and extended, then it offers a tantalising possibility: this particular observable gene cluster is associated with this set of behaviours. And not another set of behaviours, which turn have their own identifiable gene cluster. Simple. Robust. Falsifiable. Empirical. What’s more, the clusters seem to make a curious rule-of-thumb sense. One for neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD and ADHD. The second for internalising disorders such as anxiety, depression and so on. A third for compulsive ones like OCD and anorexia. A fourth for psychotic ones such as bipolar and schizophrenia And a fifth for substance abuse disorders. Simply put , each cluster may have particular underlying neurological architecture. In which case the underlying mechanism may be discerned; and treatment found.

Now for the caveats. First of all, it’s early days and we need to see how the work holds up against existing diagnostic frameworks. Secondly, only a fool would rule out epigenetic and environmental contributions to psychiatric malfunction. As for the thought of any treatments based on the new findings-well, they have to be decades away if possible at all,.

And yet….to end on a personal note. Nothing is sadder, nothing so moves us as seeing yet another lost soul, another hopeless cry for help, in the face of a victim pf psychiatric disorder. And to know the terrible sufferings imposed upon themselves, their families, carers and the professionals who come up against them, which includes anyone from emergency service workers to housing professionals. And to know that nothing can be done, despite the whole of modern science and learning. But now, just maybe, we have a real game changer on our hands, There is something to pray for this Christmas.

#psychiatric disorders #mental health #medicine #neurology #health #society

Suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder? Here are some numbers that may cheer you up

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), that debilitating melancholy that so many people report as autumn draws in is very real, according to Linda Geddes of the Guardian. [1]. It’s not just Linda’s article itself that intrigues, although it’s full of good facts and useful advice. Because the approach her scientists have taken illustrates one of the most exciting and hopeful trends in human learning since the Renaissance: the use of giant data sets combined with powerful IT tools to handle them.

The SAD researchers at the University of Edinburgh., led by the redoubtable Dr Cathy Wyse analysed four years of data, comprising records of 500 000 people from the UK Biobank,[2] a vast compendium of learning on all things medical in these islands To paste Linda’s killer quote

Large-scale resources such as the UK Biobank have transformed this area of research, allowing scientists to track seasonal patterns across hundreds of thousands of people over many years – something that was previously impossible.

It wasn’t long, gentle readers, before we found how this whole new area of learning, depending on whole new technologies such as AI, Cloud Computing and High Performance Computing is transforming our understanding in many areas such as medicine, biotechnology, meteorology, epidemiology…. remember our own praises for Deep Mind and its generation of the alpha fold proteins? (LSS passim). It is revolutionising human sciences like economics and can even help us understand more about the authorship of old texts such as The Bible and Greek Masters like Homer. Because only by looking at really huge data sets can you see patterns, meaningful patterns, which the close view of the human mind alone could never have detected.

Being the curious little monkeys we are, we couldn’t resist asking how this all works. It was like lifting the bonnet on a Rolls Royce when you don’t know what a variable valve timing system is-or anything else. For we were in an arcane mathematical world of Combinatories, Probabilities, Big O numbers, floating point approximations, Complexity, Catastrophe, and countless other recondite concepts which t will always remain beyond our comprehension. You try a few and see how far you get! But our admiration for the people who can handle such stuff, and use their computers to make all our lives richer, like the great Dr Wyse, grew even more limitless. Nevertheless, we will leave you with one fact hitherto unknown to us. If you shuffle one standard pack of 52 cards, there are 52! possible permutations: that’s 8.07x 10²⁷. More than all the atoms in the solar system. Good job no one has tried it with two packs, we say: or they would have to move the Smaller Magellanic Cloud out of the way to make room for all the possibilities.

[1]https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/02/how-to-beat-the-winter-blues-seasonal-affective-disorder

[2]https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/

#SAD #health #psychology #mathematics #computing #complexity #HPC #big data #medicine

No-Sky Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We interview A. Doctor

Following media speculation about No Sky Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a new syndrome sweeping the nation, LSS is proud to present this exclusive interview with Ann Doctor

LSS Is there really such a syndrome as No Sky Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (NSPTSD)?

AD Yes, NSPTSD is a new syndrome , but it’s very real nonetheless.

LSS What causes it? And what are the symptoms?

AD It happens when an otherwise healthy child is deprived of Sky TV in their formative years. It causes many tragic symptoms. A desire to stand out in the rain for long periods. A phobia about meeting important world leaders causing the sufferer to rush back to England to do an interview in ITV. To ignore obvious cues, such as the word “TITANIC” in the background, or hoping to rev things up by hanging around deserted motor car racing tracks in Northamptonshire. And otherwise make all kinds of gaffes, mistakes, blunders and unforced errors.

LSS is there any cure?

AD Generally we advise sufferers to collect as much money as they can and depart to a warm place, such as California, as soon as possible. And never, ever come back.

Could your gut microbiome be making you anxious?

We always like intriguing new stories about health and biology here. That’s why we’ve showcased this item from Peter Hess of the Mail, Do you have Social Anxiety? Scientists Find the Condition lives in your gut. Peter reports some results from University College, Cork. Essentially, scientists there have transferred gut material from people with Social Anxiety to mice. And found that they have thereby induced significant changes in the nervous systems of those creatures: specifically, making them more prone to anxiety and fear [1]

The work is undoubtedly interesting, and it’s good journalism to write it up Especially when it’s one of our old tropes, in this case the relationship between the the digestive system and the nervous system (LSS 9 3 23 and passim). Is it the answer to all our woes? It’s too early to say.

Essentially, journalists report two types of science story. Definitive ones, which answer all the questions and close the subject down. Or intriguing ones on early research which opens a subject up and sets the questions for future researchers. It’s our gut feeling that this work belongs in the second category. For one thing, the numbers are small (12 people and 72 mice, if our maths is anywhere near correct) Good start, but we’d like to see replication across much larger numbers. And what is Social Anxiety Disorder anyhow? Psychiatric conditions are notoriously hard to define exactly. Could there be other causes of anxiety, such as war service or growing up with violent parents? They need to be controlled for.

It’s good work in an intriguing area, and we hope these researchers are given more time and money to pursue it. But we still wait and see for definitive conclusions.

[1]https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13156095/social-anxiety-gut-scientists-treatment.html

[2]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-46986709

#diestive system #nervous system #health #anxiety