Research images
Triggering psychosis
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UPFRONT
Research images
Biomedical students at NUi Galway have exhibited a number of striking images that show off the artistic side of science. Although produced for research, the images produced in the lab often have such a strong visual impact that they rival conventional works of art. The second year biomedical students had these images up on display at a two-day exhibition in the Galway Museum. A number of NUI Galway scientists were involved in creating these images including Drs Maura Grealy and Eilis Dowd from Pharmacology; Dr Lynn O’ Connor, Biomedical Science; Professor Peter Dockery, Alex Black and Drs Dara Cannon and Fabio Quondamatteo from Anatomy; and Professors Noel Lowndes, Brian McStay and Ciaran Morrison, and Dr Andrew Flaus from Biochemistry.
This image showing a thin slice of brain tissue comes from Dr Eilis Dowd in Pharmacology. Star shaped cells, known as astrocytes, have been treated with a green fluorescent dye to make them show up against the background. By studying these cells scientists are able to conduct research on neurodegenerative diseases.
This image is made up of 25 frames in a time-lapse series showing the progressive movement of the nucleosome in a cell during division. By observing the details of cell division researchers can spot the differences that might indicate disease. This image is from the lab of Dr Andrew Flaus, Biochemistry.
Hyaline cartilage, shown here, occurs in joints and elsewhere in our body. Images such as this provide scientists with information about structure and function, enabling them to develop treatments for diseases such as osteoarthritis. Image from the lab of Prof Peter Dockery, Anatomy.
Triggering psychosis
SOME people have a genetic variant that affects the quality of an enzyme involved in the production of kynurenic acid, a chemical involved in nerve-to-nerve signalling. Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found that people with this particular genetic difference have a high risk of developing psychosis. Reporting their results in
Molecular Psychiatry, the researchers noted that levels of kynurenic acid are higher in the brains of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disease with psychosis.
Kynurenic acid is produced in response to stress or infection, and in people with the genetic variant, the levels produced are higher. According to Martin Schalling, Professor of Medical Genetics at the Karolinska Institutet, up to 80 per cent of those with psychosis related to bipolar disease have inherited the condition. Inflammation caused by stress or infection is a key trigger in setting off psychotic episodes. The researchers think that readily available drugs to bring down inflammation could prove useful in treatment.
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 58 Page 4