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https://www.tiktok.com/@stophypsters/video/7158581252738616618?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7146615854787839493

In the last post, we saw how:

• There are abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex, thalamus, basal ganglia and cerebellum.

• Depression can present in different ways that have depression schizophrenia or psychosis presenting.

• Schizophrenia often requires multidisciplinary approach for management.

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I’m really not ok tonight. I’m so sick and tired of #Schizophrenia, it took so much from me. It’s not fair and it makes me so sad.

— 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚣𝚘 👽 (@alteredschizo) October 18, 2022

Welcome to Medic Vibes, where we discuss mental health disorders and make sense of them. Dr Ebingo Kigigha is a medical doctor (aspiring psychiatrist) and creative person (illustration and music). This has been our routine for three consecutive months. This month will be dedicated to Schizophrenia. In the first month, we discussed Depression, and in the subsequent month, anxiety. We just finished with Bipolar affective disorder. We are done looking at research work done in Nigeria on schizophrenia.

In this post, we are looking at a Tik Tok. To learn more just keep scrolling down. You can also skip to the key point of the post if you which or go to the conclusion to get the summary.

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Biochemical changes and electophysiologyical

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Brain biochemical processes

When the brain is studied with an MRI and molecules are studied people who had schizophrenia had a lower level of phosphmanometer and phosphate and they have more phosphodiester. The hippocampus and frontal lobes had a lower level of a neural marker.

Electrophysiology

When electrophysiology studies are done on patients that have schizophrenia, the recorder seen is not those seen in the general population. There is an increased reaction to activation techniques. The alpha actives are reduced. The brain waves are abnormal and are suggestive of epileptic disorders. The brain may have more left-sided activities than the typical brain. From the waves, the schizophrenia brain picks up every sound without much filtering. These sound findings make it more difficult for the patient to focus.

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Schizophrenia and Genetics

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Source

Schizophrenia is one of the most limiting mental health conditions where there is an issue with experiencing reality. There are features of hallucination and delusion. The patient also has issues with thinking and exhibits abnormalities in behaviour. These features do not allow the patient to function normally.

Most patients are placed on medication for schizophrenia for the rest of their lives. If they receive the early treatment they have a likelihood hood to get better and not becoming complicated.

Symptoms

The problem is schizophrenia is that they do not have the same mental processes everyone else has, they can have problems with the way they act and the way they feel. Different people present differently but they will typically have delusions and hallucinations. They have abnormal speech and their workplace and social function is abnormal.

Delusions: A delusion is a strongly held belief that is false. A person can believe that aliens planted eggs inside them or that they are celebrities in another country or some other idea that is well known to be wrong.

Hallucination: These are sensory abnormalities where the patient sees or hears things that are not there as if they were. There is also the problem when the patient has an abnormal perception of a smell. This is typically the first symptom to be seen.

Disorganized Thinking or speech: Usually disorganized thought manifest in speech. There will be an abnormality in communication and the patient may give abrupt answers to questions or give options about different unrelated topics. The words sometimes may be audible but include words that when put together do not have any meaning, this is called a word salad.
Disorganized behaviour: The patient may exhibit behaviour that some describe as extremely disorganized behaviour. They may be worried of act like a sick child or having difficulty concentrating. Their behaviour may be to not take instructions or assume abnormal posture.

In men, schizophrenia symptoms typically start in the early to mid-20s. In women, symptoms typically begin in the late 20s. It's uncommon for children to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and rare for those older than age 45.

Negative symptoms: This is the inability to function like everyone else. The patient may stop taking care of themselves or not have any emotions marked by lacking eye contact or having a black facial expression. The normal activities the patient used to engage in could be absent from the patient.

These symptoms are different at different times. The symptoms go away and come back.

Men usually start to see symptoms in the early 20s while for women it starts in the early 20s. Children and adults over 45 hardly get diagnosed with schizophrenia.

In adolescents
Schizophrenia in teenage looks like what is seen in adults. It usually is very hard to pick out the features. The reason is that teenagers can show some features that look like schizophrenia. Some of the features they express are that they stop hanging around friends and family or they may be fairing badly at school. They can have issues with sleep and being motivated and being sad.

There is the possibility that the patient may be using recreational drugs and it may be leading to these symptoms. Teenagers have more hallucinations than adults typically but they do not have delusional thoughts as much.

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Treatment

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Personal Therapy
This is a less rigid form of therapy specifically for schizophrenia. It is used to prevent relapse while helping to develop social and workplace functions. It makes use of social skills and meditation, self-thought and self-consciousness to find the patient's tolerance for stress. The therapy sessions are aimed at being more accepting and building empathy. Relapse rates are much lower when using this form of therapy and the is better functioning socially.

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Questions

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• What did you learn about Schizophrenia?

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Conclusion

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• There are metabolic changes to that takes place in schizophrenia noted through MRI.
• There are signs of delusion and hallucination and others listed above.
• Personal therapy helps with relapase and social funtion.

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References

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• Kaplan-Sadocks-Comprehensive-Textbook-Psychiatry
• Page demarcations made with Inkscape.org
• Psycom