Schisophrenia

Phonetic exercise: schizophrenia [,skitsəu’fri:niə], serious [’siəriəs], average [‘ævrid3], environmental [in,vaiərə’mentl], urban [‘ə:bən], racial [‘rei∫l], experiences [ik’spiəriənsiz], abuse [(n) ə’bju:s, (v) ə’bju:z], psychosis [sai’kəusis], hallucinations [hə,lu:si’nei∫nz], delusions [di’lu:3nz], bizarre [bi’za:], strange [‘strein3], persecutory [‘pə:sikju:təri], severe [si’viə], isolation [,aisə’lei∫n], withdrawal [wið’dr:əl], auditory [‘:ditəri], chaotic [kei‘tik], behavior [bi‘heivjə], behavioral [bi‘heivjərəl], abnormalities [,æbn:‘mælətiz], catatonic [,kætə’tnik], psychotherapy [,saikəu‘θerəpi], cognitive [‘kgnətiv]

Make a report on schizophrenia according to the plan below:

Definition: a serious mental illness characterized by a disintegration of the process of thinking, of contact with reality, and of emotional responsiveness.

Mortality: a higher than average suicide rate associated with schizophrenia.

Epidemiology: Schizophrenia occurs equally in males and females.

Causes and risk factors: genetic and environmental factors, prenatal factors, urban environment, poverty, racial discrimination, family dysfunction, unemployment or poor housing conditions, childhood experiences of abuse or trauma, unsupportive dysfunctional relationships, alcohol-induced psychosis, etc.

Symptoms, signs, clinical manifestations, clinical features: hallucinations (most commonly hearing voices), delusions (often bizarre or persecutory in nature), and disorganized thinking and speech, word salad in severe cases, lack of responsiveness or motivation, social isolation, social withdrawal, irritability and dysphoria in the prodromal period, psychosis, auditory hallucinations, poverty of speech (alogia), inability to experience pleasure (anhedonia), lack of desire to form relationships (asociality), and lack of motivation (avolition). chaotic speech, thought, and behavior.

Evaluation: History: a personal medical history, a medication history, a family history, a family history of schizophrenia, a social history, an occupational history, an environmental history, a neurological status history, a psychiatric history, a symptom profile history, a history of self-reported experiences of the person, a history of abnormalities in behavior reported by family members, friends or co-workers, etc.

Physical examination: observation, percussion, palpation, auscultation, neurological examination, some forms of mental status examination, etc.

Analysis of characteristic symptoms: delusions; hallucinations; disorganized speech, which is a manifestation of formal thought disorder; disorganized behavior (e.g. dressing inappropriately, crying frequently) or catatonic behaviour; lack or decline in emotional response, lack or decline in speech, lack or decline in motivation; social/occupational dysfunction; duration: continuous signs of the disturbance persist for at least six months.

Management: antipsychotic medications: Risperidone (trade name Risperdal), Clozapine Chlorpromazine; hospitalization in case of severe episodes of schizophrenia; drop-in centers; psychological and social interventions: visits from members of a community mental health team; supported employment, patient-led support groups; psychotherapy; cognitive behavioral therapy; family therapy or education, which addresses the whole family system of an individual with a diagnosis of schizophrenia; other treatments: electroconvulsive therapy, regular exercise, etc.