1) WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA?
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that influences a person’s ability to think, act, and make decisions. It affects about 0.25 percent to 0.64 percent of US adults. Schizophrenia is characterized by negative thoughts and emotions, hallucinations, and delusions.
It can be a long term medical disease, but it can be cured with an early diagnosis of symptoms, effective treatment, and even participating in clinical trials for schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is more likely to develop in the late teens and the mid-thirties. People over 45 years of age rarely get schizophrenia. It affects more than 21 million people worldwide.
2) SCHIZOPHRENIA SYMPTOMS
Schizophrenia symptoms can be divided into four categories:
Positive symptoms are also known as psychotic symptoms. People with these symptoms generally lose touch with reality and experience delusions and hallucinations.
Negative symptoms are those schizophrenia symptoms where people experience behavioral changes, general lack of motivation, and interest in everyday activities and lose the ability to make decisions.
Cognitive symptoms affect the thought process of a person. The signs can be subtle for some patients, while it can be severe for others.
Emotional symptoms are generally negative symptoms, and patients can experience unclear thoughts.
The significant symptoms of schizophrenia are:
Hallucinations: People having hallucinations may see things, hear voices, smell, feel, taste things that do not exist. The hallucinations can appear real to the person experiencing schizophrenic symptoms.
Delusions: Delusions are false beliefs that can take different forms. People who have schizophrenia always believe that they are under constant control of someone. People having delusions gets easily confused and have concentrating problems.
Cognitive difficulties: People have difficulties in recalling things and organizing the necessary everyday activities of their lives.
3) THE CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
Several factors can be blamed for schizophrenia. Some of them are:
Genetic inheritance: Genetics plays an active role in schizophrenia. If there is no one in the family with a history of schizophrenia, there is less than a 1 percent chance of developing it. But, if the parents are diagnosed with it, then the risk can rise to 10 percent.
Environment: There is no proof of environmental schizophrenia causes, but malnutrition during birth or exposure to viruses is said to be the cause of the development of the disease.
Imbalance in the brain: the imbalance of certain brain chemicals such as dopamine and glutamate, may cause schizophrenia. Serotonin is also responsible for developing the symptoms of schizophrenia.
Substance Abuse: Sometimes, it is also suggested that taking mind-altering drugs consumed during teens young adulthood increases the risk of schizophrenia. Smoking marijuana can also increase the risk of psychotic incidents.
4) TREATMENTS FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA
Although there is no absolute cure for schizophrenia, there are particular treatments for schizophrenia that can help to keep the symptoms in check. Twenty-five percent of people who undertake schizophrenia treatment recover from it and live a healthy life.
Medications: Such as Risperidone, Olanzapine, Quetiapine, Ziprasidone
Psychosocial Treatments: this therapy is essential as it helps schizophrenia patients in social skill training, assertive community treatment, and provides psychotherapy.
Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC): it is a recovery schizophrenia treatment program for people who have their first episode of psychosis. A personal treatment plan client is generally created with the help of specialists to make the treatment more effective.
SCHIZOPHRENIA CLINICAL TRIALS AT CMB MEDICAL TRIAL
5.1 percent of men and 5.6 percent of women face a significant risk of early death. Suicide is the leading cause of premature deaths and the highest contributor to the mortality rate. The suicide rate is 10 to 13 percent higher in schizophrenia patients than the general population.
CMBH is regularly researching to find out prompt and effective methods to treat Schizophrenia. We are also in the process of testing new approaches to detect, prevent, and treat Schizophrenia.
People who have Schizophrenia can participate in clinical trials conducted by CMB. As a participant, they will be contributing to finding new and better medications to help prospect patients and the overall advancement of modern medicines.
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