Internationally renowned experts in schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, researchers and clinicians, patients and their families and friends will gather in Pittsburgh to discuss the latest in research and clinical advances at the 26th Annual Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference to be held Friday, Nov. 13, at the Sheraton Station Square, Pittsburgh. With more than 400 attendees expected this year, the conference is the nation’s longest-running scientific meeting devoted to exploring the latest research findings related to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.

Schizophrenia is a chronic severe and disabling brain disorder that affects 3.2 million Americans, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. People with schizophrenia may hear voices other people don’t hear or believe that others are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts or plotting to harm them. These experiences can cause fearfulness, withdrawal or extreme agitation.

During this conference, the world’s leading researchers in the field will provide information about new research findings that have the potential to help people with schizophrenia. Scientific presentations will cover a diverse range of topics, including electrical activity and oscillations in the brain; brain imaging research; and using approaches to reduce medical complications such as reducing body weight. Additionally, a patient and family perspective regarding patient-centered medicine as it applies to people with severe mental illness will be discussed in a panel format.

The 2009 Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Award will be presented to Rohan Ganguli, M.D., professor of psychiatry, pathology and health and community systems at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and professor of psychiatry and Canada research chair at the University of Toronto. Dr. Ganguli’s research focuses on reducing the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes in people with schizophrenia and other serious mental illness in order to increase their life expectancy, which currently is 25 percent lower than the general population. He will present a lecture titled “Closing the Mortality Gap: How to Live Longer So You Can Enjoy Your Recovery.”

The 2009 Gerald E. Hogarty Excellence in Schizophrenia Research Memorial Award will be presented to Dawn I. Velligan, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and co-chief of the Division of Schizophrenia and Related Disorders at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Velligan’s research focuses on environmental and behavioral strategies to assist people with serious mental illness in the management of their own illness and disabilities. She will present a lecture titled “Environmental Supports to Improve Outcome in Schizophrenia.”

Also speaking at the conference are:

- Raymond Cho, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, Pitt School of Medicine, on “Brain Oscillations and Cognition in Schizophrenia”
- W. Gordon Frankle, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and radiology, Pitt School of Medicine, on “Using Receptor Imaging to Understand the Brain Processes Underlying Schizophrenia”

For more information about the Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference, visit here.

Source
University of Pittsburgh