Schizophrenia Could be Traced in Early Childhood - Schizophrenia is primarily a genetic disease. But it also required some external factor for initiating gene. One factor is if the mother is sick with influenza during a certain part of the pregnancy.
The relationship between influenza epidemics and incidence of schizophrenia later faced. It said American neuro-scientist Edward Jones been invited by Neurobiological club at the medical faculty to hold this year's Victory Falk Lecture at LU.
The flu could be a risk factor for Schizophrenia has been known since 1988, when a Finnish psychiatrist observed that many of his patients were born a few months after a major flu epidemic in 1957 the relationship has since been confirmed in studies in other countries.
But the mother's flu is just the trigger. The gene must be present. And as quickly as the molecular genetic research is developed, it will probably not be long before we know where in the genome that fault. Only then will open the possibilities to cure schizophrenia. Today, we can only provide treatment that suppresses the
symptoms of Schizophrenia.
Another factor that may trigger the disease in later life appears to be maternal age. Expert found that
schizophrenia in kids have found that mothers of schizophrenic patients are often elderly. Obstetric complications and prolonged labor, which are also risk factors for schizophrenia, is more common in older than younger mothers.
Schizophrenia affects approximately one percent of the population and the frequency is about the same in all countries, races and cultures. Male people seems to be more vulnerable, but scientists can not explain why.
hallucinations
Schizophrenia is a terrible disease, and gradually we have learned more about the symptoms, such as hallucinations and impaired cognitive functions. The new products that have been developed can help many patients to a decent life. The side effects are not nearly as severe as the first-generation antipsychotics caused.
But many schizophrenics have fared badly when the big institutions were closed and patients were channeled "into the community". Suicide rates have increased and schizophrenia is also a risk factor for other diseases.
The situation is probably far worse in the United States than in the Nordic countries. We need more hospital beds for these patients. One problem is that many stop taking their medications because they feel healthy, but then they immediately disease recurrence. Psychotherapy, then? No, absolutely not, he says. Today we know that the disease has a biological cause and psychotherapy works neither as cure or
Schizophrenia treatmentSchizophrenia often starts in the late teens. Why not sooner if both the trait and the trigger is?
Difficult to interpret
The fact is that the first
signs of Schizophrenia can appear in early childhood but they are difficult to interpret. An American study in which researchers have mapped the patients' childhood and among other things seen in movies that have been recorded within the family. It has been small but clearly aberrant behavior, such as in movement pattern, of those who later became ill. Many were also later than average in their development.
In another study, which also is made in the USA follows the scientists are now a large number of children and map all their development stages. The aim is to identify early and definite signs of deviant behavior in those later diagnosed with
schizophrenia. Based on this knowledge, it might be possible to find criteria for the treatment of early stage that the severe symptoms could be prevented.