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MRI
CAN PREDICT SCHIZOPHRENIA
1. Read and translate the text.
British researchers say magnet-
ic resonance imaging (MRI) could
be used in combination with other
clinical assessments to predict
schizophrenia in people at high risk
of developing the brain disorder be-
fore they actually started showing the symptoms. "Changes in grey
matter could be used as part of a predictive test for schizophrenia in
people at enhanced risk for (family) reasons," the team of scientists at
Edinburgh University said in an abstract published on the BMC Medi-
cine web site.
"Current methods are good for predicting who won't develop
schizophrenia but not who will," lead researcher Dominic Job told the
BBC. "By combining brain imaging with traditional clinical assess-
ments it might be possible to detect people who are at highest risk of
the illness early."
The researchers pointed out, however, that their study had only
covered a small group of people and a larger-scale independent test
was required to confirm the results.
The Edinburgh team spent 10 years
following 200 young people at high risk of
developing schizophrenia because two or
more members of their family had already
been diagnosed with the disorder, the BBC
reported on its web site. They analyzed re-
sults of MRI taken about every 18 months
of 65 of these people, and looked for
changes in grey matter-the brain tissue that
transmits messages and helps store memo-
ries.
Eight of the 65 developed schizophrenia about two years after
their first scan. Interestingly, the scans of each of these eight people
revealed that changes had started happening in their grey matter be-
fore they started displaying symptoms of the disorder, the BBC ex-