Physical ills often plague people with schizophrenia, bipolar
Severe mental illness can contribute to a decline in a person's physical health, with many chronic conditions slowly eroding their wellness, a new review finds.
Apr 23, 2024
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Severe mental illness can contribute to a decline in a person's physical health, with many chronic conditions slowly eroding their wellness, a new review finds.
Apr 23, 2024
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Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder characterized by positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and cognitive deficits, with heritability estimates of approximately 80%. Synaptic dysfunction is a core component of the pathophysiology ...
Apr 10, 2024
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Our understanding of schizophrenia has increased greatly in recent years, as studies of large groups of people have identified a multitude of genetic variants that increase a person's risk of the disease. But each of those ...
Mar 19, 2024
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Specialized brain scans may accurately predict whether a psychotic patient will go on to develop treatment-resistant schizophrenia, Dutch researchers report.
Mar 15, 2024
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Researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Harvard Medical School, and McLean Hospital have uncovered a strikingly similar suite of changes in gene activity in brain tissue from people with schizophrenia and ...
Mar 6, 2024
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Schizophrenia is associated with an increased risk of subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, with the association stronger in women, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in the Journal of the American Heart ...
Mar 1, 2024
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There are varying cognitive trajectories over 20 years among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, according to a study published online on Feb. 12 in Psychological Medicine.
Feb 15, 2024
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A team of researchers led by Indiana University School of Medicine faculty have developed a breakthrough new blood test for schizophrenia, a psychiatric disorder that includes hallucinations and delusions.
Feb 8, 2024
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The number of emergency department visits for schizophrenia spectrum disorders increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online Dec. 27 in JAMA Network Open.
Dec 28, 2023
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Most people with schizophrenia have extensive impairment of memory, including prospective memory, which is the ability to remember to perform future activities. Results from a randomized clinical trial published in Neuropsychopharmacology ...
Dec 6, 2023
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Schizophrenia (SCZ) (pronounced /ˌskɪtsɵˈfrɛniə/ or /ˌskɪtsɵˈfriːniə/), from the Greek roots skhizein (σχίζειν, "to split") and phrēn, phren- (φρήν, φρεν-; "mind") is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality. Distortions in perception may affect all five senses, including sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, but most commonly manifest as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking with significant social or occupational dysfunction. Onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with approximately 0.4–0.6% of the population affected. Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported experiences and observed behavior. No laboratory test for schizophrenia currently exists.
Studies suggest that genetics, early environment, neurobiology, psychological and social processes are important contributory factors; some recreational and prescription drugs appear to cause or worsen symptoms. Current psychiatric research is focused on the role of neurobiology, but no single organic cause has been found. Due to the many possible combinations of symptoms, there is debate about whether the diagnosis represents a single disorder or a number of discrete syndromes. For this reason, Eugen Bleuler termed the disease the schizophrenias (plural) when he coined the name. Despite its etymology, schizophrenia is not the same as dissociative identity disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder or split personality, with which it has been erroneously confused.
Increased dopamine activity in the mesolimbic pathway of the brain is consistently found in schizophrenic individuals. The mainstay of treatment is antipsychotic medication; this type of drug primarily works by suppressing dopamine activity. Dosages of antipsychotics are generally lower than in the early decades of their use. Psychotherapy, and vocational and social rehabilitation are also important. In more serious cases—where there is risk to self and others—involuntary hospitalization may be necessary, although hospital stays are less frequent and for shorter periods than they were in previous times.
The disorder is thought to mainly affect cognition, but it also usually contributes to chronic problems with behavior and emotion. People with schizophrenia are likely to have additional (comorbid) conditions, including major depression and anxiety disorders; the lifetime occurrence of substance abuse is around 40%. Social problems, such as long-term unemployment, poverty and homelessness, are common. Furthermore, the average life expectancy of people with the disorder is 10 to 12 years less than those without, due to increased physical health problems and a higher suicide rate.
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