Prenatal Exposures in Schizophrenia (Progress in Psychiatry) [Hardcover]

Ezra S. Susser (Editor), Alan S. Brown (Editor), Jack M. Gorman (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Progress in Psychiatry | Publication Date: March 1999

One of the most devastating of illnesses, schizophrenia remains something of a mystery for scientists and psychiatrists trying to pinpoint its causes, understand its effects, and find a cure. Although we know that schizophrenia is an inherited disorder, new clues point to the probability that genes are only partly responsible for the disease. A growing body of evidence suggests that schizophrenia is often the result of environmental factors combined with a genetic predisposition. In Prenatal Exposures in Schizophrenia, a group of distinguished scientists considers a range of epigenetic elements thought to interact with abnormal genes to produce the onset of illness. The authors pay particular attention to the evidence implicating obstetric complications, prenatal infection, autoimmunity, and prenatal malnutrition in brain disorders. Chapters are arranged within four sections: -Schizophrenia and brain development -Prenatal infectious exposures -Prenatal nutritional exposures -Prenatal immunological exposures The book uses new findings on the effects of environment combined with genetics to shed light not only on the causes of schizophrenia, but also on preventive measures and potential cures. In recent years, evidence has emerged that early and sustained intervention with antipsychotic medication can reduce the duration and severity of schizophrenic symptoms. Now, by identifying events during pregnancy that place the fetus at risk for developing schizophrenia and taking steps to prevent them, the outlook for decreasing the morbidity and perhaps even the incidence of schizophrenia has never been more promising.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" "Prenatal Exposures in Schizophrenia" presents a series of elegant reviews of the compelling evidence for fetal injury in schizophrenia.... Drs. Susser, Brown, and Gorman's volume summarizes converging data from obstetrics, basic and clinical neurobiology, and epidemiology that suggest paths both to the cause and ultimately to the prevention of schizophrenia."-- "Judith L. Rapoport, M.D., Chief, Child Psychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland"

About the Author

Ezra S. Susser, M.D., Dr.P.H., is Chair of the Division of Epidemiology, at the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. He is also Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in Public Health at Columbia University and the Head of the Developmental Brain Disorders Department at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York, New York. Alan S. Brown, M.D., is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York, New York. Jack M. Gorman, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University at the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Amer Psychiatric Pub; 1st edition (March 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880484993
• ISBN-13: 978-0880484992
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,839,268 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Watershed Book for Researchers in Psychiatry, May 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Prenatal Exposures in Schizophrenia (Progress in Psychiatry) (Hardcover)

For many years, a book for researchers such as this has needed to have been written. The highly regarded authors have opened a door for psychiatry and neurology that hopefully will never be closed. The prenatal influences that contribute to schizophrenia have needed to be examined one by one. Patients and families want researchers to deal with these serious issues in an effort to prevent future tragedies.