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Schizophrenia: its Aetiology
Lesley Stevens and Ian Rodin justified the need of acquisition to the mental disorders’ aetiology in their book “Psychiatry”. They pointed out the fact that psychiatrists need to be familiar with the contribution of a particular disorder in order to make a more confident in the diagnosis. Knowing the aetiology of psychotic disorder is as important as the diagnosis. For the simple reason that psychotic disorders do not have particular tests that can be made for diagnosis; on the contrary, physical illnesses do. Knowing the probability of patients vulnerability to a particular disorder helps in the diagnosis. They gave an example explaining that the probability of having angina is more likely in a 60-year-old male smoker rather than a 30 year-old female non-smoker. Although the causes of schizophrenia remains incompletely reveled, research has shown strong factors that might contribute to the disorder. The factors that increase the risk of schizophrenia include: genetics, environmental factors, and some encephalon(brain) abnormalities.
The domination of schizophrenia in specific geographical countries suggests a strong association between genetics and schizophrenia’s aetiology. Surveys regarding adopted, by different families, monozygotic twins were made. These surveys were established to investigate the relationship between schizophrenia and genes. The studies showed a potent genetic aetiology. Chances increase by fifty percent to develop schizophrenia once the other twins be diagnose with the disorder. Among schizophrenic patients, having schizophrenic siblings increases the chances of developing schizophrenia by eight percent. Other family studies have showed that 12% of children with schizoph...
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...hizophrenia; seeing that dopamine does not trigger any negative symptoms. They state that dopamine dysfunction is purely a secondary cause of schizophrenia. In the view of these studies, schizophrenia aetiology needs further research in order to understand it better.
References:
1. Stevens L, Rodin I .Psychiatry. The 2nd edition. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier;2011.
2. University of Maryland Medical Center. 2013. Schizophrenia. [online] Available at: http://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/schizophrenia [Accessed: 30 Nov 2013].
3. Weiser M ; Reichenberg A ; Rabinowitz J ; Kaplan Z ; Caspi A ; Yasvizky R ; Mark M ; Knobler HY ; Nahon D ; Davidson M, Self-reported drug abuse in male adolescents with behavioral disturbances, and follow-up for future schizophrenia, Biological Psychiatry [Biol Psychiatry] 2003 Sep 15; Vol. 54 (6), pp. 655-60.
Tsuang, M. T., Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2011). Schizophrenia. New York: Oxford University Press.
The causes of schizophrenia and the related psychotic illness have been the subject of much
Schizophrenia: From Mind to Molecule. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. Kalat, J. (2004). Biological Psychology.
Mental illnesses are diseases that plague a being’s mind and corrupts one’s thoughts and feelings. Schizophrenia is one of the many disastrous illnesses that consume one’s life, is known as a real disease that deserves much attention. Experts believe that what causes the illness is a defect in the gene’s of the brain, and little signs of schizophrenia are shown until about one’s early adult years. Some effects of schizophrenia can either be negative or positive, but even if the effects could be either one, people should still be aware that there is something puzzling and alarming happening in the mind of a schizophrenic patient.
Schizophrenia is one of the most misdiagnosed illnesses of all time. Its characteristics of identification – hallucinations, delusions, lack of body control, etc. - often cause it to be identified as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Doctors and scientists still debate the major cause of schizophrenia. Through research it is carefully observed that genetic factors play a larger role in the cause of schizophrenia than environmental factors.
Coined by Eugen Bleuler in 1950, the term ‘Schizophrenia’ refers to a group of mental disorders with heterogeneous outcomes. The most prevalent subtype of schizophrenia is the paranoid subtype. Typically, this disorder is characterized by psychosis, in which the patient suffers from altered perceptions of reality. According to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM – V), the typical subtypes – paranoid, catatonic and disorganized, among others have been eliminated, although the general definition of the disorder remains unchanged. These changes were made due to the clinically diverse prognosis, pathophysiology and etiology of the disorder, which add to its heterogeneity1, 2. In addition, sex of the patient and age of onset of the disorder also contribute to schizophrenia’s diverse effects. The age of onset and sex of the patient heavily influence the demographics and course of paranoid schizophrenia, and in turn are also affected by the patients ethnicity and any premorbid conditions the patient may have suffered1, 3...
There is a definite biological basis for this disease, although it is not totally understood. For a long time schizophrenia was a mystery to doctors and scientists. Virtually any patient with a psychological disorder used to be placed under the expansive umbrella that defined the disease. Poor parenting was a misleading, early excuse for the troubles caused by what is now known to be substantially based in genetics. The most current idea of origin is that this disorder occurs during the crucial beginning months of life, those spent within the womb. Neither ...
National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health. Schizophrenia. 31 Jan 2013. Web. 15 May 2014
Perivoliotis, Dimitri, Demain Rose, and Brian J. Schulman. "Schizophrenia." Schizophrenia.com, Indepth Schizophrenia Information and Support. Schizophrenia.com. 10 June 2010.
Duckworth M.D., Ken. “Schizophrenia.” NAMI.org. National Alliance on Mental Illness, Feb. 2007. Web. 28 March 2010.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Arasse, Daniel. Complete Guide to Mental Health. Allen Lane Press,New York, 1989. Gingerich, Susan. Coping With Schizophrenia. New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Oakland, 1994. Kass, Stephen. Schizophrenia: The Facts. Oxford University Press. New York, 1997. Muesen, Kim. “Schizophrenia”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. Microsoft Corporation, 1998. Young, Patrick. The Encyclopedia od Health, Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment. Herrington Publications. New York, 1991.
After researching schizophrenia, it is apparent that there is no clear answer to the question of what causes the psychiatric disorder. Rather, there is much debate about the four hypotheses that seem to dominate the scientific community as of late. Many researchers believe that schizophrenia may be a combination of all or some of the hypotheses. Whether these hypotheses are true or not, it is important that more research be done to become less wrong in the understanding of schizophrenia.
Chakaburtty, Amal. "Psychotic Depression." 1 Mar 2010. n.pag. Depression Health Center. Web. 13 Nov 2011.
The cause of schizophrenia is still unclear, but some theories about the cause of the disease include: genetics, an imbalance in the brains chemistry, traumatic experience or accident, and/or possible viral infections and disorders. The illness occurs in 1% of the general population, but occurs in approximately 10% of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder such as a parent or sibling. The risk is highest for an identical twin or a person with schizophrenia - with a 40-65% chance of developing the disorder.
"Schizophrenia." NIMH RSS. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.