Not trying to be argumentative, but according to a study posted in the American Journal of Psychology "There are several studies that show people with schizophrenia have smaller-than-average cranial size".
https://now.uiowa.edu/2013/09/how-schizophrenia-affects-brain. So if the reasoning for her possible cognitive impairment was due to the small cranial size for the brain isn't someone with schizophrenia still a possibility? I don't want to waste the investigators time submitting her if it would not be a good possible match, but I also don't want to let her slide if she could bring closure to this family. Am I way off in left field with my understanding of this study? Thanks for all the thoughts and info. you are all sharing!
The articles you posted about the links between schizophrenia and cognitive impairment certainly give food for thought. This connection is new to me, so thank you for that. It certainly sounds as though some (many?) people who go on to develop the disorder have signs that can be picked up long before the illness manifests itself.
As to Lora being worth suggesting to LE, well I don't know.
The
possibility of Lora having a smaller cranium than average might tie in with RCJD's smaller cranium, though we don't know if Lora had this feature. From previous reading about schizophrenia, it seems that men tend to develop the condition earlier than women (late teens to mid 20s, as opposed to mid 20s to early 30s), so if Lora developed the condition as early as she did it
may indicate that there were early cognitive problems that were the precursor to its emergence.
Her eyes and mouth look about right, though her hair looks to be too dark in the photo that's on the missing person listings and her eyebrows are mostly covered by her hair.
She would also have been 29 when RCJD was found, which is several years above the current estimated age range, though I seme to recall that earlier estimates have gone up to the upper 20s.
Lora was clearly First Nations, and RCJD possibly had some Native ancestry though how much seems unclear.
I'm 50/50 about her, but I think there are enough positive points to make it worth submitting her as a long shot. If you do, I'd suggest including the two links in your email to LE so they can follow your thoughts and reasoning for themselves.
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