Mental Health and Illness - Schizophrenia

A person who hears voices, becomes violent, and sometimes ends up as a homeless person, muttering and shouting incomprehensibly, frequently suffers from schizophrenia. This disease generally presents in adolescence, causing hallucinations, paranoia, delusions, and social isolation. The effects begin slowly and, initially, are often considered the normal behavioral changes of adolescence. Gradually, voices take over in the schizophrenic's mind, obliterating reality and directing the person to all kinds of erratic behaviors. Suicide attempts and violent attacks are not uncommon in the lives of schizophrenics. Many schizophrenics turn to drugs in an attempt to escape the torment inflicted by their brains. NIMH estimated that as many as half of all schizophrenics are also drug abusers.

In 2006 the NIMH reported that 2.4 million Americans suffered from schizophrenia and similar disorders ("When Someone Has Schizophrenia," May 9, 2006, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/schizsoms.cfm#5). Although the precise causes of schizophrenia are unknown, for years researchers have hypothesized that genetic susceptibility is a risk factor for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The disease affects an estimated 1% of persons worldwide, but an individual with a parent or sibling who has schizophrenia has a 10% chance of developing the disease compared with the 1% chance of an individual with no family history. A prenatal developmental problem, or a combination of genetic, developmental, and environmental factors, may also be causative factors. Although physical and emotional stress can aggravate symptoms of schizophrenia, they do not cause the disease.

Imaging studies of the brain have revealed abnormal brain development in children who have schizophrenia, and imaging studies of adults with the disease have found enlargement of the ventricles of the brain. Some studies suggest that the brain of a person with schizophrenia manufactures too much dopamine, a chemical vital to normal nerve activity. Conventional drug treatment focuses on blocking dopamine receptors in the brain, but not all people with schizophrenia respond to treatment; it also can produce serious side effects. Newer antipsychotic medications used to treat the disorder, such as risperidone, have fewer side effects than previously used medications. Patients who take these medications must be monitored closely for serious side effects such as loss of the white blood cells that fight infection.