̽»¨Ö±²¥

A study published today has confirmed a link between antipsychotic medication and a slight, but measureable, decrease in brain volume in patients with schizophrenia. For the first time, researchers have been able to examine whether this decrease is harmful for patients’ cognitive function and symptoms, and noted that over a nine year follow-up, this decrease did not appear to have any effect.

̽»¨Ö±²¥largest ever psychological study of sex differences in adults with autism has found that both males and females with autism on average show an extreme of the typical male mind, where systemising (the drive to look for underlying rules in a system) is stronger than empathising (the ability to recognize the thoughts and feelings of others and to respond to these with appropriate emotions).

Children who later develop autism are exposed to elevated levels of steroid hormones (for example testosterone, progesterone and cortisol) in the womb, according to scientists from the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge and the Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. ̽»¨Ö±²¥finding may help explain why autism is more common in males than females. However, the researchers caution it should not be used to screen for the condition.

Public health strategies aimed at tackling obesity at a population level through lifestyle changes are more appropriate for preventing type 2 diabetes than targeted interventions based on an individual’s genetic risk, according to a study led by the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the ̽»¨Ö±²¥ of Cambridge.