Schizphrenia

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a mental illness which affects the way you think. The symptoms may effect how you cope with day to day life.
Schizophrenia is a common illness. About one in a hundred people will develop schizophrenia. It can develop during young adulthood. The early stage is called ‘the prodromal phase’. During this phase your sleep, emotions, motivation, communication and ability to think clearly may change.
If you become unwell this is called an ‘acute episode’. You may feel panic, anger or depression during an acute episode. Your first acute episode can be a shocking experience because you are not expecting it or prepared for it.

Schizophrenia myths

 ‘‘Schizophrenia means someone has a split personality"
One error is that schizophrenia means that people have multiple or split personalities. This is not the case. The mistake may come from the fact that the name 'schizophrenia' comes from two Greek words meaning 'split' and 'mind'.

 ‘Schizophrenia causes people to be Violent"
People with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are more likely to be a danger to themselves than other people. Unfortunately some people with the illness may become violent because of delusional beliefs or the use of drugs or alcohol. Because these incidents can be shocking, the media often report them in a way which emphasises the mental health aspects. This can create fear and stigma in the general public. Only a small minority of people with the illness may become violent, much in the same way as a small minority of the general public may become violent.
Source:  http://www.rethink.org/diagnosis-treatment/conditions/schizophrenia/what

Researchers discover direct evidence of genetic overlap between cognitive ability and schizophrenia

Investigators at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered for the first time, direct evidence of a genetic overlap between schizophrenia and general cognitive ability. The findings are published online in Molecular Psychiatry.
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe and disabling brain disorder that affects approximately 2.2 million Americans each year. It is characterized by a significant reduction in general cognitive abilities, so that many patients struggle with completing school, holding jobs and achieving their full potential. Previous studies have indicated subtle cognitive abnormalities in undiagnosed and unmedicated relatives of patients who live with schizophrenia, which suggests the possibility of genetic overlap between risk for schizophrenia and cognitive traits. These previous studies, however, did not test this overlap on the molecular level.
Anil Malhotra, MD, director of psychiatry research at Zucker Hillside Hospital and an investigator at the Feinstein Institute, and his colleague Todd Lencz, PhD, associate investigator at the Zucker Hillside Hospital and the Feinstein Institute, conducted the first molecular genetic test to determine if genetic markers of reduced cognitive ability were also genetic markers of increased schizophrenia risk. Specifically, they conducted a large-scale, meta-analysis, genome-wide association study (GWAS) of samples from 5,000 subjects provided by the Cognitive Genomics consorTium (COGENT). COGENT, which was founded and is led by Dr. Malhotra, is an international consortium of nine teams of researchers across seven countries. Through their analysis, they confirmed that patients who suffered from schizophrenia also had lessened cognitive ability. This is the first direct evidence for genetic overlap between schizophrenia risk genes and genes that regulate general cognitive ability, such as memory, attention, and language abilities. The results provide molecular confirmation of this genetic overlap and additional insight into how schizophrenia develops and progresses.
"This research leads us to a deeper understanding of how schizophrenia affects the brain at the molecular level," said Dr. Lencz. "Our studies are designed to provide clues to the development of new treatments to improve the lives of our patients."
 
Source:  http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131217/Researchers-discover-direct-evidence-of-genetic-overlap-between-cognitive-ability-and-schizophrenia.aspx?page=2