Schizophrenia: Symptoms and Treatment
Is Clozapine an effective treatment for schizophrenia?
What is schizophrenia and what are the symptoms –
Figure 1
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder which can affect a person’s mental well-being. Suffering from schizophrenia can terrify people and make them withdrawn from family and friends or make them extremely agitated. Some people with the disorder are known to hear voices, believe people are trying to harm them or are reading their minds. The exact cause is unknown, however many scientists believe that genes and environment both play a role together. Within the brain, the level of dopamine and glutamine, both chemical messengers, may be out of balance. Another cause may come from the brain structure being slightly abnormal. For example this brain scan (see figure 1) of identical twins show that the brain on the left has much larger/fluid filled ventricles which is common for schizophrenic patients, compared with the twin that does not have the illness on the right. [1]
It is difficult to acquire accurate statistics on schizophrenia due to the nature of the illness, however it is estimated that about 7 per thousand of the adult population, mostly in the age group 15-35 years are effected by the illness. This has been calculated to be 24 million people worldwide.
Though the occurrence is quite low compared to other illnesses, it lasts a long period of time can sometimes cause a long-term change in the body.
There are three different types of symptoms are a person with schizophrenia can suffer from[2]:
* Positive – * Hallucinations. * Delusions. * Thought disorders. * Movement disorders. * "Voices" are the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia.
* Negative – * Lack of pleasure in everyday life. * Lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities. * Speaking little, even when forced to interact.
* Cognitive – * Cognitive
What is schizophrenia and what are the symptoms –
Figure 1
Schizophrenia is a brain disorder which can affect a person’s mental well-being. Suffering from schizophrenia can terrify people and make them withdrawn from family and friends or make them extremely agitated. Some people with the disorder are known to hear voices, believe people are trying to harm them or are reading their minds. The exact cause is unknown, however many scientists believe that genes and environment both play a role together. Within the brain, the level of dopamine and glutamine, both chemical messengers, may be out of balance. Another cause may come from the brain structure being slightly abnormal. For example this brain scan (see figure 1) of identical twins show that the brain on the left has much larger/fluid filled ventricles which is common for schizophrenic patients, compared with the twin that does not have the illness on the right. [1]
It is difficult to acquire accurate statistics on schizophrenia due to the nature of the illness, however it is estimated that about 7 per thousand of the adult population, mostly in the age group 15-35 years are effected by the illness. This has been calculated to be 24 million people worldwide.
Though the occurrence is quite low compared to other illnesses, it lasts a long period of time can sometimes cause a long-term change in the body.
There are three different types of symptoms are a person with schizophrenia can suffer from[2]:
* Positive – * Hallucinations. * Delusions. * Thought disorders. * Movement disorders. * "Voices" are the most common type of hallucination in schizophrenia.
* Negative – * Lack of pleasure in everyday life. * Lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities. * Speaking little, even when forced to interact.
* Cognitive – * Cognitive