Trending News Today: Advocacy Groups Aim to Reclassify Schizophrenia

Health advocates are pushing for schizophrenia to be reclassified as a brain disease instead of a mental illness, Politico reported. According to the article, advocacy groups including the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America are lobbying Congress to include schizophrenia in a new CDC program that aims to collect data on the prevalence and risk factors of neurological conditions. The groups are hoping that reclassification will help reduce stigma associated with the condition and lead to more research for a cure, the article reported.

Sage Therapeutics announced that its oral treatment, SAGE-217, for postpartum depression effectively reduced symptoms of the condition in a late-stage trial, Reuters reported. According to the article, patients who received SAGE-217 showed a reduction in symptoms, including anxiety and insomnia, after 2 weeks of treatment. Sage reported that improvements were maintained until the end of the follow-up period at week 4.

A recent survey indicates that 1 in 10 Americans have a food allergy, however, more people believe they have a food allergy but actually do not, The New York Times reported. Based on their findings, the researchers estimated that 26 million American adults have an allergy to 1 or more foods, whereas another 21 million think they have a food allergy but do not, the article reported. The survey respondents had to report at least 1 of the known symptoms of an immune system reaction to an allergen for it be considered a true allergy, according to the article.