Researchers find abnormal blood-brain barrier may play role in schizophrenia

Scientists from TCD and the RCSI have discovered that blood vessel abnormalities in the brain may play a major role in the development of schizophrenia — a debilitating condition affecting approximately 1 per cent of people in Ireland. The network of blood vessels in the brain regulates the transport of energy and materials in and out of the organ — forming what is known as the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Scientists in the Smurfit Institute of Genetics at TCD and the Department of Psychiatry, RCSI, have found abnormalities in the integrity of the BBB may be a critical component in the…