Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Schizophrenia is one of the most intractable psychiatric disorders. The objective of this study is to examine Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) potential as a preventative intervention against development of clinical Schizophrenia after the presentation of prodromal/preclinical schizophrenia-related symptomology. Recent attention has begun to focus for the first time on strategies for preventing its development in vulnerable populations. A particular focus is individuals identified as clinically at high-risk for psychosis, such as those seen in the Focus on Youth Psychosis Prevention (FYPP). Because full symptoms may take years to develop, a major hurdle in achieving effective prevention in this vulnerable population is the time required to test and assess different interventions. By affording faster assessment of prophylactic interventions preclinical models could prove invaluable in this respect. The overall yearly socio-economic burden from schizophrenia is in the order of tens of billions of dollars in Canada and the USA. The complexity of its symptoms and prognostic factors poses an enormous challenge. There is mounting evidence that neuroinflammation plays a significant role. Accordingly, reinvigorated attention is being directed at strategies that decrease or manage neuroinflammation in schizophrenia and other conditions, and recent evidence has highlighted the anti-inflammatory effects of polyunsaturated fatty acids and their relevance to psychiatric disorders. It is only in the last two decades that we have clinically validated some of the behavioral features associated with the prodromal phase. This has essentially provided a growing appreciation of the opportunity for earlier intervention and prevention strategies such as this proposed study.