Event:

With E. Kraepelin’s introduction of the dichotomy between dementia praecox - later on called schizophrenia - and manic-depressive illness, the way was paved for the belief that schizophrenia is a degenerative disorder comparable to Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease. There is a body of evidence demonstrating a lack of neuronal cell loss, lack of astrocytosis and for neurodevelopmental remnants. In addition, gene expression studies identify pathways of immune-modulation to be differentially expressed in schizophrenia. They are closely situated next to pathways involved in regenerative processes of the human brain. Finally, we could demonstrate that exercise reverses structural abnormalities, cognitive dysfunction and negative symptoms in schizophrenia hence adding to the assumption that schizophrenia is not a degenerative process as suggested by Kraepelin but a disorder of plastic/neuroregenerative processes of the human brain.