Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia, a disease of the brain, is one of the most disabling and emotionally devastating illnesses known to man. It has been misunderstood for a long time and has received relatively little attention. Schizophrenia is not a split personality, but a very rare and different disorder. It has an estimated one percent to one and a half percent of the U.S. population is being diagnosed with it over the course of their lives. Schizophrenia has a biological basis and is not caused by bad parenting or personal weakness. There is no known cure for schizophrenia, but it is slowly yielding to new treatments and understandings. Most of those afflicted by schizophrenia respond to drug therapy, and many are able to lead productive and fulfilling lives. While schizophrenia can affect anyone at any point in life, it is somewhat more common in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease. The first psychotic episode generally occurs in late adolescence or early adulthood. It is uncommon after the age of 30 and rare after 40. Schizophrenia affects more men in the 16-25 year old age group but the incidence is higher in women in the 25-30 year old age group. The probability of developing schizophrenia as the offspring of two
Clozapine, unfortunately, has potentially serious side effects of its own, including dizziness, seizures, drowsiness, drooling, lowered blood pressure, and weight gain (more than half of patients become 20% or more overweight). The greatest danger is agranulocytosis, a loss of the bone marrow's capacity to make white blood cells that occurs in about 1% of patients. Clozapine is costly because of the necessary periodic blood monitoring, but research shows that it saves money in the long run because patients taking it are less likely to relapse and require hospitalization. Hallucinations can be heard, seen, or felt. Most of the time they take the form of voices heard only by the afflicted person. Such voices may describe the person's actions, warn him of danger or tell him what to do. At times the individual may hear several voices carrying on a conversation. Other less common experiences can include seeing, feeling, tasting or smelling things which to the person are real but are not actually there. parents, neither of who has the disease, is 1 percent. However probability of developing schizophrenia as the offspring of one parent with the disease is approximately 13 percent. Developing schizophrenia as the offspring of both parents with the disease is approximately 35 percent. Delusions are common among individuals with schizophrenia. An affected person may believe that he is being conspired against. Individuals with schizophrenia believe that others can hear their thoughts. They may describe plots against them or having special powers and gifts. Sometimes they may withdraw from or hide to avoid imagined persecution. Although anti-psychotic medications are effective in controlling psychotic symptoms for people with schizophrenia they have a number of very serious side effects that can be both uncomfortable and even dangerous. Side effects need to be monitored and managed effectively. Many consumers will discontinue their medication in order to avoid the side effects, and this can result in exacerbation of their symptoms and often rehospitalization. The most effective treatment for schizophrenia involves medication, treatment and rehabilitation in the community. The use of anti-psychotic drugs has revolutionized the treatment of schizophrenia. Anti-psychotic medications were first introduced by two French researchers in 1952. Prior to that time there were no effective treatments for schizophrenia. Recently people suffering from schizophrenia have a range of new therapies d
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