symptomsschizophrenia.com

Treatment of Schizophrenia

admin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:47:17 +0000

No research has yet identified a good treatment for schizophrenia, in spite of the huge amounts of research going on continually. Hence the basic goals of the treatment for schizophrenia are

Manage the schizophrenic symptoms
Improve and sustain the emotional well-being of the patient.
Assist the patient to lead their life normally by lending a helping hand in school, work, etc.
Medications can be employed to control the severity of the disorder.

Antipsychotic medications are important to be taken for the treatment of schizophrenia. Medications seem to have side effects but the type and severity of the effect may change between individuals. Some patients need to work with the psychiatrist for months or even years to identify the best suitable medication or the drug combination which is right for them. Schizophrenia seems to be a chronic mental illness and hence a patient will need to continue medication for the rest of their lives to prevent any relapse.

The surrounding people including the family play an important role for the patient to stay in treatment in spite of some setbacks. Since it also involves lifestyle changes like regular walks, healthy diet maintenance to control the side effects, the family help is greatly needed.

From the 1950s, antipsychotic drugs have been used in the treatment of schizophrenia, but it was effective in treating only the positive symptoms. The drugs normally used are haloperidol (Haldol), chlorpromazine (Thorazine), fluphenzine (Prolixin) and perphenazine (Etrafon, Trilafon). Serious side effects that had been caused are tremors, muscle spasms, rigidity and restlessness.

In 1990, antipsychotics with fewer side effects like olanzapine (Zyprexa), clozapine (Clozaril), quietiapine (Seroquel), ziprasidone (Geodon) and risperidone (Risperdal) became popular. Among the above drugs, Clozaril is responsible for causing agranulocytosis (lowering of specific kinds of blood cells) and the others though do not cause agranulocytosis, can affect the metabolism and can result in weight gain and also increases the risk for diabetes and cholesterol. Based on the individual reactions, the doctors may find the most suitable one. But often other drugs along with antipsychotic drugs are normally prescribed to control symptoms like depression.

The greatest of the hurdles involved in recovery is that the patients often stop their medications without getting the advice of the doctor. This occurs when patients are not satisfied with the lifestyle changes needed or the side effects or just due to lack of remembrance. Sometimes denial and mistrust can also lead to discontinuation.

The best treatment may involve a holistic approach where the family, doctors and social workers are in constant communication and share responsibility for the improvement of the health of the patient. A good treatment regime must be complete and lifelong and include all elements.
The other useful treatment methods to build awareness are rehabilitations and psychosocial therapies. Stress management also plays an important role. Proper diet and exercise is essential for maintenance of the healthy mood. Besides, social interaction helps a lot in recovery. Constant work is needed to occupy the patient. It helps the patient to enhance his ability to cope with stress.

Symptoms of Schizophrenia

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:24:01 +0000

Unlike other illnesses, schizophrenia symptoms are peculiar for the observers. The schizophrenic people do not have any idea that their behavior or thoughts are different to others. This lack of insight is the cause for frustration and fear that their loved ones may abandon them. Schizophrenia is a psychotic disorder. The symptoms of schizophrenia and psychosis are very similar. The perceptions, beliefs, emotions and thought processes seem disconnected from reality. The person may seem normal at most of the times since these symptoms are not stable. The symptoms of schizophrenia are grouped under 3 classes.
Positive Symptoms
These include experiences and behavior that differs the ill person from the healthy person. They are also called as psychotic symptoms. They include
· Delusions: These are false beliefs which are meaningless. Though everyone has wrong beliefs at times, these symptoms in particular possess an abnormal obsessive quality. The affected person can never be explained that his beliefs are unreal.
· Hallucinations: These are imaginary experiences which are not connected to the world. They occur when the patient is completely awake and not when under alcohol or substance abuse. The most common among them are auditory hallucinations like hearing voices, visual hallucinations like seeing things but even a touch or taste or smell can be hallucinated.
· Disorganized speech/ loose association: Patients speak unconnected words. They form their own language rules. They are strung together depending upon rhyme, sound, free associations or puns. Though everyone tends to do these errors when tired or sleepy, affected patient’s speech is impossible to comprehend.
· Disorganized/ catatonic behavior: Such behavior is not sensible and not goal-oriented. Examples of disorganized behavior are laughing inappropriately, removing clothes off in a bus while travelling, etc. Examples of catatonic behavior are adopting strange body postures or freezing.
Negative Symptoms
They explain normal traits that are completely lost or lowered in the ill person. They consist of:
· Flattened affect: patients seem emotionless or very few emotions. They do not respond to disturbing situations and images.
· Anhedonia: Patients lose the ability to express their feelings. They will not find happiness in things which they before enjoyed.
· Lack of planning ability or avolition.
· Reduced speech.
Cognitive Symptoms
These are connected to the thought processes of the patient. Though these symptoms do not indicate schizophrenia, most of such symptoms occur in the illness. They comprise
· Difficulty maintaining attention: lack of ability to concentrate makes schizophrenic people appear spacey or jump to various topics in a short time.
· Memory problems: The illness is found to affect the working memory, where the important information like phone number digits, etc is stored. Hence they cannot remember things.
· Difficulty in structuring activities: executive control permits for the identification of steps required to finish a task and perform them in order. Besides, this is used to suppress our distractions when a job is getting done. Schizophrenic people have a reduced executive control.
· Lack of insight: schizophrenic people possess a blindspot that avoids them to realize their illness. Hence the family members must be very careful in order to assist the patient in maintaining the treatment schedule to control symptoms.

Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:20:39 +0000

Schizophrenic symptoms can be terrifying for the affected person or for their observing friends and the loved ones. If a person experiences schizophrenic symptoms, it is strongly recommended to get the consultation of a doctor immediately. A psychiatrist will better diagnose the symptoms and gives his results accurately. Sometimes, the symptoms may represent a similar illness if not schizophrenia which must be treated. And if it is schizophrenia, the treatment must be started soon after diagnosis at least for better recovery.
Schizophrenia can be classified as a mental illness that comes under psychotic disorders. Schizophrenic patients have psychosis symptoms which keeps them out of touch with reality. There are many other illnesses which include psychotic symptoms. There are no specific tests like blood or brain test for diagnosing schizophrenia. There are specially trained out people to diagnose schizophrenia accurately. The trained people perform several interviews along with some psychological tests to find out the current beliefs, history and symptoms of the patient.
Doctors conclude their results based on these interviews and the verified symptoms with the patient. Schizophrenia cannot be detected by any chemical tests. Recently, several brain imaging techniques have become popular for the determination of the damaged areas of the brain. Such techniques are
· MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging) employs magnets to provide cross-sectional images of the inner structure of the brain.
· SPECT (Single-photon emission computed tomography) employs a scanner, which revolves around the patient’s head, along with multiple detectors for lowering the imaging time.
· PET (Positron emission tomography) employs the injection of a radioactive substance (safe enough for the patient) into the patient’s body which can pass through the brain blood vessels and can be detected by a device for producing images of the brain.
There are certain conditions or illnesses which produce the same symptoms as schizophrenia. Hence they are often mistaken to be schizophrenia. They need to be ruled out for proper diagnosis. Such conditions include
· Drug abuse
Consumption of hallucinogenic drugs like LSD or mescaline might result in seeing or hearing things which are actually not present by the individual.
· Epilepsy
This can disturb the brain’s electrical signaling and hence it is a trigger for seizure. Seizure is also marked as an involuntary movement that can resemble like seeing or hearing things which are actually not present.
· Brain tumor
An extra-growth in the brain irrespective of the area can lead to some behavioral changes.
· Encephalitis
This includes inflammation in the brain.
· Thyroid disorders
A hyperactive thyroid can release high amounts of thyroid hormone into the bloodstream. In such an occasion, a person feels apprehensive or delirious.
· Hypoglycemia
When there are low sugar levels in the blood, it may result in lethargy and a confused state.
· Wilson’s disease
A rare disease, occurring through heredity, where there will be copper accumulation in the RBCs, which in turn may affect the brain and cause dementia.
· Alzheimer’s disease
Besides many drugs prescribed as medicine can also at times mimic the schizophrenic symptoms like delusions, severe confusion, especially in elder people. Though there are many disorders very different from schizophrenia, they may have some similarities. Hence they are grouped under ’schizoaffective disorders’.

Causes of Schizophrenia

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:18:49 +0000

From research, it has been clear that there is no single known cause for schizophrenia. Many other diseases like heart disease is caused by interaction between many factors like genetic, behavioral, etc and schizophrenia also comes under this category.
It has known since long that schizophrenia is a genetically inherited disease and runs in families. Persons with close relatives affected with schizophrenia are generally more likely to get schizophrenia than people with no relatives with schizophrenia at all. A good example is that a person is 40-50% more likely to develop schizophrenia when he has an identical twin affected with schizophrenia. And another illustration is that a child is 10% more likely to get schizophrenia when his parent is affected with schizophrenia. And the risk is just 1% in the normal population to develop schizophrenia.
Research is being conducted for identifying the genetic factors which is responsible for schizophrenia. It has been found that several genes are responsible for the development of the disorder. Besides, factors like prenatal difficulties involving viral infections or intrauterine starvation, perinatal complications, etc. There are some nonspecific stressors which act as triggers. But yet the genetic transmission of the disease has not been identified accurately and hence it is impossible to say if a person will develop schizophrenia or not.
Various combinations of the human genome are being investigated to identify those involved in schizophrenia. Recent research has proved that chromosomes 13 and 6 may be responsible but not yet certain. When the actual genes are identified exactly, it can help the doctors to better treat schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenia Genetics Initiative has been established by NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) which is currently gathering data from large number of affected people to identify the genes and develop a new treatment mode.
Research was conducted to determine whether Schizophrenia is caused by a chemical defect occurring in the brain. The basic knowledge linking brain chemistry with Schizophrenia is investigated in depth. Neurotransmitters are also doubted to be concerned in causing Schizophrenia or it may also be caused by some imbalance in the release of neurotransmitters, especially the dopamine and glutamate. It seems to give a promising solution.
The next area of research includes structural abnormality of the brain. Several neuro-imaging techniques like MRI, PEST, etc are being tried upon to identify the structural differences in the brain. The Schizophrenic people are found to have enlarged ventricles and certain regions decreased in size. Sometimes the defect is with the function like decreased metabolic activity. But these reasons are subtle and are not the only cause for Schizophrenia or found only in Schizophrenic people. Schizophrenic people’s brain when examined after death shows small changes in the number and distribution of neurons as compared to normal people. But normally these changes seem to be present even before the illness occurs.
Developmental neurobiologists have found that Schizophrenia can occur as a developmental disorder occurring when brain cells form inappropriate links in the course of fetal development. Such errors though dormant in the beginning stages may show up after puberty since there are some changes occurring in the brain after maturation. Hence this has led to identification of prenatal factors.
In other researches, some brain imaging techniques have shown biochemical changes which lead to the start of the symptoms of Schizophrenia. Hence this has led to investigation regarding the neural circuits involved in producing the symptoms.