Schizophrenia Causes Symptoms Information with Treatment
- By:Juliet Cohen
Schizophrenia begins in late adolescence or early adulthood. People who have schizophrenia may have unusual beliefs, called delusions. Schizophrenia is believed to result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. A child who has one parent with schizophrenia. Implicates abnormalities in both the brain's structure and biochemical activities. Sometimes, the use of street drugs seems to bring on schizophrenia. These include ecstasy (E), LSD (acid), amphetamines (speed) and crack. Environmental factors, such as a viral infection, poor social interactions or highly stressful situations, may trigger schizophrenia in people who have inherited a tendency to develop the disorder. Schizophrenia more often surfaces when the body is undergoing hormonal and physical changes Schizophrenia is known to run in families. Thus, the risk of illness in an identical twin of a person with schizophrenia is 40-50%. A child of a parent suffering from schizophrenia has a 10% chance of developing the illness. The risk of schizophrenia in the general population is about 1%. Abnormal brain structure and function in people with schizophrenia. However, this type of abnormality doesn't happen in all schizophrenics and can occur in people without the disease. The effectiveness of schizophrenia treatment is often assessed using standardized methods, one of the most common being the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS).
Causes of Schizophrenia
Common Causes and Risk factors of Schizophrenia
Genetics factors.
Environmental factors.
Abnormal brain development
Infections
Birth complications
Head Injury.
Signs and Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Sign and Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Hallucinations.
Delusions.
Paranoia.
Lack of motivation and enjoyment.
Concentration
Treatment of Schizophrenia
Common Treatment of Schizophrenia
Treatment includes counselling, social support and rehabilitation.
Anti-psychotic medicines are available to treat the worst symptoms of the illness, such as hallucinations, but there is no "cure" at present.
Anti-psychotic drugs, though effective, are associated with a range of distressing side-effects which can result in constant twitching/fidgeting, writhing and disjointed movements. However, newer ('Atypical') anti-psychotic drugs are designed to offer control of symptoms and less of these disabling side-effects.
Support from family, friends and healthcare services is also a vital part of therapyAbout the author:
Juliet Cohen writes articles on diseases and conditions and skin disorders. She also writes articles on herbal home remedies.