Schizophrenia

Question 1

What is S not?

Answer 1

a split-personality disorder

Question 2

What is S?

Answer 2

its characterised by fundamental distortions in thinking and perception

Question 3

How common is it?

Answer 3

affects around 1% of the population - the most common form of psychosis

Question 4

What are the 3 symptomologies?

Answer 4

Positive symptoms, negative symptoms and though disorders

Question 5

What are positive symptoms?

Answer 5

Lack of insight (doesnt know symptoms aren’t real), hallucinations (likely to be auditory) and delusions (false beliefs not shared by others)

Question 6

What are thought disorders?

Answer 6

manifests as distorted or illogical speech

Question 7

What are negative symptoms?

Answer 7

Social withdrawal, self neglect, loss of motivations, paucity of speech

Question 8

Which symptoms are similar to depression?

Answer 8

negative

Question 9

Which symptoms are easier to treat?

Answer 9

positive

Question 10

What is the male to female risk ratio?

Answer 10

1.4:1

Question 11

Earlier onset in males or females?

Answer 11

males (~21) females (~27)

Question 12

Which gender experiences more severe symptomology?

Answer 12

males

Question 13

Which socioeconomic group does it appear most in?

Answer 13

low socioeconomic groups affected most but anyone can be a sufferer

Question 14

What are the 3 phases of S?

Answer 14

Predromal phase, Active phase and Residual phase

Question 15

Describe some of the requirements in the ICD-10 to be diagnosed with S?

Answer 15

delusional perception, hallucinatory voices, incoherent speech, catatonic behaviour, negative symptoms.

Question 16

Causes: What link does dopamine have with S?

Answer 16

Excessive dopamine activity: neurons that communicate using dopamine fire too often and transmit too many messages or excessive number of dopamine recptors

Question 17

Causes: Genetic link?

Answer 17

General population: 1% risk. First degree relatives: 6.5% risk and Monozygotic Twins: 40% risk.

Question 18

Causes: Enviromental factors?

Answer 18

Premature birth/low birth weight, parenting (some evidence, but could be circumstantial) and life stressors (likely to set off S not cause)

Question 19

Causes: Cannabis?

Answer 19

People with S smoke more weed than the general population. Its argued that they use it as self medication to dull their symptoms. Link has been found between early cannabis use and S; gene-environment interaction

Question 20

Treatment: Pharmacological?

Answer 20

antipsychotic is standard treatment of S. Clozapine reduces negative and positive symptoms although adherence rates are poor.

Question 21

Treatment: Psychological?

Answer 21

Only effective after pharmacological. CBT, family therapy and psychoeduation all found to help reduce persistent symptoms and increases support, reduced relapse rates

Question 22

So what is the prognosis?

Answer 22

Not poor, improved dramatically with pharmacological intervention and psychoeducation improves outcome.

Question 23

What are the recovery stats?

Answer 23

First episode: 80% recovery. Lifetime vulnerability to relapse,