Schizophrenia |symptoms|causes|treatment|types|

 

There are some people in the World whom we always see in different sight. We often think that they have miraculous power. In that case, they can see or feel such type of things that we don’t. Then we think that person is lunatic or he is surrounded by an evil force. But should we give place to superstition in today’s scientific society?  

 

So, let’s get out of this superstition & find out the reason for its strange behaviour in the light of science through this blog. 

 

In medical field, this type of disorder is known as SCHIZOPHRENIA.

WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA?  

 

“Schizo” means split & “phrenia” means mind. Mainly schizophrenia is one of the most complex and challenging of psychiatric disorders. It represents a heterogeneous syndrome of disorganized and peculiar thoughts, delusions, hallucinations, inappropriate affect, & impaired psychosocial functioning.

 

Schizophrenia most commonly has its onset in late adolescence or early adulthood and rarely occurs before adolescence or after the age of 40 years. Studies indicate that males are affected earlier than females by about 3 to 5 years. Males commonly exhibit schizophrenia between the ages of 15 and 25, whereas the illness affects females between the ages of 15 and 30, and a smaller group between ages 45 and 50. 

  

 TYPES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA – 

Paranoid Schizophrenia– Paranoid schizophrenia is characterized by positive symptoms.  

 

Catatonic Schizophrenia- Mainly catatonic schizophrenia effects on movement. In this disease, one might get hyperactive for no reason.  This is the rarer type of schizophrenia. It is more frequently occurs in neuro-developmental condition than other schizophrenia.  

Hebephrenic Schizophrenia – This is a serious type of schizophrenia which may occur for long time. Mostly the patient experience illogical and incoherent thoughts.  

 

Residual Schizophrenia – Normally, the patient has not shown any symptoms of schizophrenia syndrome. But they had the past medical history of the syndrome.  

 

Undifferentiated Schizophrenia- From its name we can easily define symptoms of this types of schizophrenia. The patient has combined symptoms of all types of schizophrenia. 

 

SCHIZOPHRENIA SYMPTOMS – 

 

The Schizophrenia symptoms are categorized on their psychological behaviours - 

 

Positive syndrome-   Positive syndrome means the patient may acquiring new behaviour like Delusions, Hallucinations, Disorganised speech & behaviour.

 

Negative Syndrome- In negative syndrome patient loss normal emotion (fear, Joy, sorrow). It may affect in person’s behaviour.  

Cognitive syndrome- Cognitive means abilities of learning, memory, perception, problem solving but in case of schizophrenia, patients loss these abilities. 

 

Reasons behind schizophrenia – 

 

There are various factors- 

Genetic and Environmental Risk Factors- 

Siblings of a proband with schizophrenia have a sevenfold to tenfold increased risk of the disorder, children born to a parent with schizophrenia have a 13-fold to 15-fold increased risk. The risk is highest (40%–50%) in a monozygotic (identical) twin of a person with schizophrenia.  

 

Environmental factors such as prenatal difficulties (i.e., malnutrition in the first trimester of pregnancy or influenza in the second trimester), perinatal complications, and various nonspecific stressors may also influence the development of schizophrenia. 

Changes in brain structure – Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging brain studies of individuals with schizophrenia have shown enlarged ventricles, particularly the lateral and third ventricles.  

 

Disbalance of neurotransmitter- 

 

Chlorpromazine & other antipsychotic drugs decrease dopamine activity by blocking specific postsynaptic receptors served as the foundation for the dopaminergic hypothesis of schizophrenia. Actually, the main reason is the disbalance of dopamine which is known as happy chemical.  

  

Treatment – 

 

Schizophrenia is a chronic disease for which there is no specific cure.  At first, the patient should attend psychosocial rehabilitation programs which oriented the patient toward improving the adaptivity function. If the rehabilitation program is not work for serious condition, the patient should be treated with first choices antipsychotic medication like second-generation antipsychotics.   

Our superstitions keep all these sick people away from treatment. Come forward to treat them in the age of science. We cannot push a person to the brink of death for our wrong thinking. Be aware as well as make others aware to these types of psychiatric disorders.