Fun Fact #52 Women are more likely to develop schizophrenia than men, statistic differs in various locations (Taber 2081).
Fun Fact #38 A person is more likely to develop the disorder between late teens and mid thirties (Taber 2081). One being positive symptoms (are those that produce activity such as hallucinations and delusions (DeLisi 5&18). The second being negative symptoms, for instance the flat effect (when a person does not experience emotion), withdrawal, lack of speech, and slowness of movement and thinking (DeLisi 5). Thirdly is general disorganization, such as mixed speech, unable to understand concepts, and unorganized behavior. These characteristics may also me referred to as disorganizational syndrome (DeLisi 5).
Fun Fact #101 “ No one knows what causes Schizophrenia” (Haycock 16). Research suggests that the cause of schizophrenia is genetic. In addition research also suggests that environmental factors may also play a role in the disorder. However, both theories interfere due to the fact that most families share a common environment. This is where researchers begin to use twin and adoption studies to lead the way. “Twin and adoption studies provide strong and consistent evidence that genetic factors play a major role in…schizophrenia” (Evans & others 101-107). This chart displays the genetic risk of developing schizophrenia (Haycock 18).
<ul><li>One in one hundred adults will have schizophrenia during their lifetime. Of this devastating mental illness, 10 to 13 percent kill themselves. Roughly half the population of Schizophrenia attempt suicide at least once”(Fields 138-142). </li></ul><ul><li>“ Compared with the general population, these patients have an 8.5-fold greater risk of suicide” (Kasckow). </li></ul><ul><li>Thus suicide is very common among those with the disorder. The persons with the schizophrenia may try to harm themselves from various reasons such as the voices (hallucinations) may tell him/her too. Another example is due to delusions, in which he/she may become injured. Depression is also a common reason, several people with schizophrenia often suffer from depression at some point. The schizophrenic often becomes depressed due to lack of social contact. The person’s friends and relatives may no longer be support. Often the people who are schizophrenic become suicidal due to preventable reasons: he/her may be uneducated on the disorder, he/she may not be receiving the necessary treatment to prevent depression, or panic episodes of delusions or hallucinations (DeLisi 94-96). </li></ul>Ways to help: 1.Educate yourself 2.Offer guidance 3.Provide support 4.Be a friend
Treatments The most common and effective treatments involve antipsychotic drugs such as Seroquel and Geodon, as well as therapy. One form of therapy is cognitive which breaks down into two parts. One is breaking the connection of bad stimuli and the emotional reaction for the patient. The second is learning and developing new thought patterns in the patient. These two areas allow the patient to become more aware of their environment as well as themselves. Other, though proven less effective therapies include family and psychotherapy. Although there is another approach referred to as ECT. ECT or electroconvulsive therapy which “gives a series of electrical shocks to regions of the brain given in sessions that are separated by several days.” ECT is uncommon among Schizophrenics, yet is most effective in relieving patients depression (DeLisi 25).
<ul><li>“ Schizophrenia results from abnormal communication and processing of sensory and internal information in the brain…cells controlling conduction of impulses through axons could have a critical influence on the disease. If defects in myelin insulation around axons prevent impulses from reaching their proper connections at the proper time, the internal processing of information in the mind will be impaired” (Fields 158). </li></ul>
The schizophrenic brain varies from person to person. One schizophrenic person may not develop any changes (as seen physically by an MRI or otherwise) of the brain. However there are a few commonalities of the brain that people with schizophrenia may share. MRIs have helped doctors to assess these brains, the MRI clearly shows the brain tissue divided into gray matter with neuronal cells and white matter of fibrous connections. The research thus far is mainly measuring the volume of these structures. Furthermore, “besides the ventricles, the volume of gray matter as a whole is significantly less, as in the size of the temporal lobe and its different subdivisions (i.e., superior temporal gyrus and hippocampus), frontal lobe, and corpus callosum” (DeLisi 74-75). <ul><li>Further Explanation: </li></ul><ul><li>“ Grey matter is brownish-grey nerve tissue of the brain and spinal cord that contains nerve cells. </li></ul><ul><li>White matter is whitish brain and spinal cord tissue composed mostly of nerve fibers and its shiny protective coat called myelin </li></ul><ul><li>Superior temporal gyrus is a portion of the temporal lobe of the brain that has many functions related to language, including hearting it and speaking it” (DeLisi 74). </li></ul>The chart illustrates the findings of schizophrenic brains (DeLisi 75). Fun Fact #75 In the 20 th century , Egas Moniz of Portugal developed the lobotomy and received a Nobel Peace Prize for it. The lobotomy begins by drilling holes into the brain, then using a needle like instrument the doctor breaks the connecting tissue from the frontal lobes. Lobotomies were used to reduce anxiety of mental patients. The practice continued into the 1950’s, until nurses and doctors were using lobotomies for there own satisfaction and to abuse the patients (DeLisi 33).
Notice the various size differences in the brain structures, as explained in the previous chart and slide; that people with schizophrenia may have different sizes of brain structures (DeLisi 75). This is an MRI of a schizophrenic brain (DeLisi 75). This is an MRI of a brain of a person without any mental disorder (DeLisi 75).
Fun Facts of Schizophrenia Fun Fact #49 People with the disorder have normal IQ’s, however at the beginning of the illness the IQ slightly decreases. Consider the movie A Beautiful Mind , in which the real life character, John Nash has schizophrenia as well as a high IQ. Which may be why he is able to distinguish delusions and hallucinations from real life, because some cannot (DeLisi 21). John Nash’s wife describes him in an 1994 interview. “ By New Year’s Day…Nash’s behavior had become more and more peculiar. He was irritable and hypersensitive one minute, eerily withdrawn the next. He complained that he know that something was going on and that he was being bugged. Also, he was staying up nights writing strange letters to the United Nations. One night he had painted black spots all over the bedroom wall” (DeLisi 3). <ul><li>A Fun Fact Guide to </li></ul><ul><li>What Schizophrenia is NOT : </li></ul><ul><li>Contagious </li></ul><ul><li>Untreatable </li></ul><ul><li>Caused by bad child rearing </li></ul><ul><li>Due to poverty </li></ul><ul><li>Caused by laziness </li></ul><ul><li>Is not the same as having a split personality (Haycock 14). </li></ul>Fun Fact #47 According to NIMH only a small portion of funds goes to researching Schizophrenia. Due to budget cuts, economy, and other factors less money and thus less research has been dedicated to the disorder( Haycock 258).
Even More Fun Facts of Schizophrenia Fun Fact #851 Between 1939 and 1951 more than 18,000 lobotomies were performed in the United States (Haycock 12). Fun Fact #13 Diary of a Madman was one of the first ever descriptions of schizophrenia. Created in 1834 by a Russian named Nikolai Gogol, who described in the article to have heard dogs talking to each other, while he believed he was the king of Spain (Haycock 8). Fun Fact #9 The word schizophrenia was created in 1911 from two Greek words: ‘splitting’ and ‘mind’ which gives the term spilt mind. Thus people often confuse Schizophrenia with another disorder known as dissociative identity disorder (Haycock 5). Fun Fact #954 Research proves that help organizations such as websites are usually only used by the person with schizophrenia, and not by family members or friends (Haker). Fun Fact # 721 People with Schizophrenia are more likely to have a ruptured appendix than others without the disorder and appendicitis (Haycock 174). Fun Fact #86 Sixty percent of people with schizophrenia live in poverty and five percent are homeless (Haycock 248). Fun Fact #23 A lobotomy was performed on the Kennedys’ daughter (DeLisi 33).
DeLisi, Lynn. 100 Questions & Answers About: Schizophrenia: Painful Minds. United States of America: Jones and Bartlett Pub, 2006. This source provided me with and abudant of information. I used several charts in my presentation to illustrate my subject such as the pictures of the MRIs. This paticular text was very helpful in complete the research for this presentation. Evans, Dwight. Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What we know and what we don’t know. United States of America: Oxford University Press, 2005. The text explained reasoning and research of the linkage between schizophrenia and genes. The description of the research was grand and provided resonable proof of studies suggesting a hereditary connection. I used this information to describe to my audience the research. Fields, Douglas. The Other Brain: From dementia to schizophrenia, how new discoveries about the brain are revolutionizing medicine and science. United States of America: Simon & Schuster, 2009. This text was extremely beneficial to me research. It provided several views on schizophrenia that I had not received else where. The book also broke down the social barriers and stigmas associated with the disorder. I tried to keep this in mind, as well as share this with my audience, throughout my presentation. Fields gave possible but clear explantions of aspects associated with schizophrenia. Haker, H., C. Lauber, and W. Rossler. Internet Forums: a self-help approach for individuals with schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 112.6 (2005): 474-477. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Jul. 2011. This article helped me to focus on the suicide aspect of schizophrenia. It exposed that family members and friends (that of a person with the disorder) do not use self-help internet forums for schizophrenia. However, the research also showed that the forums are beneficial to people with the disorder, who tend to use the forums often. This was an overall great source that helped complete a aspect of my presentation.
Haycock, Dean. The Everything Health Guide to Schizophrenia: The latest information on treatment medication, and coping strategies. United States of America: Adams Medica, 2009. This was a great source to gather various kinds of information. The text held information ranging form the history of the name Schizophrenia to court orderings for patients. The book was very helpful and informative. It also provided several diagrams for better understand the matter at hand. Kasckow, John, Kandi Felmet, and Sidney Zisook. Managing Suicide Risk in Patients with Schizophrenia. CNS Drugs 25.2 (2011): 129- 143. Academic Search Complete . EBSCO. Web. 26 Jul. 2011. This article was beneficial in the fact it provided research and reasonable conclusions of suicide and schizophrenia. The statistics expressed by Kasckow showed the depth of schizophrenia’s suicide rates compare to the general population. This is helpful information, because it has allowed my readers to understand what rate is considered normal, high, low, and so on. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, 21 ed. United States of America: F. A. Davis Company, 2009. The text helped me to gain a medical perspective on schizophrenia. The book provided me with are reasonable and understandable aspects of schizophrenia. In addition the text contained several statistics of the disorder. The medical perspective and statistics helped me to better display to my audience the truthfulness behind the matter. Woodford, Keith. Devil in the Milk: Illness, health, and the politics of A1 and A2 milk. United States of America: Chelsea Green Pub, 2007. This allowed me to be skeptical and look into other causes for schizophrenia. The book provides a large amount of evidence reasonably suggesting that peptides in milk cause schizophrenia and autism. This information was used as a fun fact, however the text did provide several studies and research that was taken into consideration for this presentation. The text, which I cited in the article, helped my readers to be skeptical, while grasping a better knowledge of the disorder.