History of Schizophrenia

History of Schizophrenia

Introduction

The word schizophrenia is less then a 100 years old, but the disease itself is recognized as being thousands of years old. Documents revealed from ancient Egypt contained knowledge of symptoms relating to schizophrenia. Greek and Roman documents however contain no descriptions of the disorder. The disorder was first identified as a discrete mental illness by Dr. Emile Kraepelin in 1887. Dr. Kraepelin used the term "dementia praecox" for individuals who had symptoms that are now associated with schizophrenia. He was the first to make a distinction in the psychotic disorders between what he called dementia praecox and manic depression. Kraepelin believed that dementia praecox was primarily a disease of the brain, and particularly a form of dementia.

The Swiss psychiatrist, Eugen Bleuler, coined the term, "schizophrenia" in 1911. He was also the first to describe the symptoms as "positive" or "negative." Bleuler changed the name to schizophrenia as it was obvious that Krapelin's name was misleading as the illness was not a dementia.   The word "schizophrenia" comes from the Greek roots schizo (split) and phrene (mind) to describe the fragmented thinking of people with the disorder. Since Bleuler's time, the definition of schizophrenia has continued to change, as scientists attempt to accurately define the different types of mental diseases. Both Bleuler and Kraepelin subdivided schizophrenia into categories, based on prominent symptoms and prognoses. Over the years, theorists have continued to attempt to classify the different types of schizophrenia. Five types are defined in the DSM-III: disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, residual, and undifferentiated. The first three categories were originally proposed by Kraepelin. Without knowing the exact causes of these diseases, scientists can only base their classifications on the observation that some symptoms tend to occur together.

Symptoms

Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental illnesses. It is a severe, chronic, and disabling brain disease. Schizophrenia is often mistaken for multiple personalities, or dissociate identity disorder. Schizophrenia occurs when an individual splits off from reality and are unable to tell what is real and what is not real. It affects one percent of the population and affects men and women equally, but men tend to develop schizophrenia earlier in life. To be diagnosed as having schizophrenia, an individual must have several symptoms.

The symptoms include delusions, hallucinations, and abnormal speech. The delusions that occur are bizarre, false beliefs that seem real to the person, but in actuality do not exist. Another common symptom is delusions of persecution and grandeur, which involves incomplete lines of thought. Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia either speak very little and have disorganized speech. They jump from one idea to another, repeating words, or making up completely new words.

There are several different types of schizophrenia. These include: paranoid, catatonic, disorganized, undifferentiated, and residual schizophrenia. Each has their own symptoms and tendencies as listed below:

1.      Catatonic type: Motor disturbances, stupor, negativism, rigidity, agitation, inability to take care of personal needs, decreased sensitivity to painful stimulus.

2.      Paranoid type: Delusional thoughts of persecution or grandeur, anxiety, anger, violence, aggressiveness

3.      Disorganized type: Incoherence, regressive behavior, flat effect, delusions, hallucinations, inappropriate laughter, repetitive mannerisms, social withdrawal

4.      Undifferentiated type: Patients may have symptoms of more than one subtype of schizophrenia.

5.      Residual type: Prominent symptoms of the illness have abated, but some symptoms, such as hallucinations and flat affect,   may still be present.

Treatment

As of yet, there are no defining medical tests for schizophrenia. The following factors may suggest a schizophrenia diagnosis, but do not confirm it: developmental background, genetic and family history, changes in functioning prior to illness, course of illness and duration of symptoms, and response to drug therapy. Historically treatment for schizophrenia was done through insulin shots or electroconvulsive therapy. These days different approaches are utilized with more positive results. The most common method for treating schizophrenia is antipsychotic medications.

The drugs that reduce the high level of neurological activity that leads to schizophrenia are called neuroleptics. Neuroleptics reduce brain activity by blocking the receptors so the dopamine cannot enter the receptor and reduces the sensitivity of the postsynaptic receptor. This in turn increases the levels of serotonin in the patient . Antipsychotic medications do not reduce all of the symptoms of schizophrenia unfortunately. Due to this psychotherapy, family therapy, and occupational training are used in combination with the drugs to get the individual to come back and lead normal lives

Prognosis for Recovery

    There are several different approaches to treating schizophrenia, but an individual with the illness is never fully cured.   Like many others, schizophrenia is an unfortunate disease. Even though there are many treatments and the affected people are still able to live some sort of normal life they will never be one hundred percent cured.   Schizophrenia is one of the most common psychological illnesses that effect people. However this is not a reason for schizophrenics to give up all hope. Even though the disorder can not be fully cured, it can be managed, and symptoms may decrease, or disappear all together. This of course depends on the individual suffering from schizophrenia willingness to take an aggressive stance with their disorder. Lying down and excepting their fate will not achieve success. Through therapy, drug therapy, and the trust of family or friends and individual can return to a life of normalcy. The only thing that can prevent this is not participating in their own treatment. Accepting that schizophrenia will continue to destroy their lives only continues the downward spiral of their lives. Through understanding and motivation to accept treatment for their schizophrenia, more and more patients are living functional lives. Even though these patients may never be cured, a recovery of their lives should be something they all should be striving for.

References:

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

http://www.namiscc.org/index.htm

Schizophrenia.com

http://www.schizophrenia.com/index.php

Internet Mental Health

http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-ps01.html