“A patient with schizophrenia tied himself up not to harm children”

Consciousness breaks up into fragments, thinking and perception are distorted, and emotions are dulled or become inadequate – these are the characteristic signs of schizophrenia, which is faced directly or indirectly every hundredth on the planet. Neuropsychologist Margarita Alfimova comments on common ideas about schizophrenia and talks about the search for scientists in this area.

Psychologies: Whether this disease is inherited?

Margarita Alfimova: The probability of getting schizophrenia is affected by both a set of human genes and other factors, in no way connected with genes. These include changes in the functioning of the body – and the brain in particular, which could occur as a result of birth injury, infection or malnutrition of the mother during pregnancy, and cruelty in childhood. Apparently, there are many other reasons that science have not yet been established.

Can drug use provoke the development of the disease?

Drugs slightly increase the likelihood of developing the disease. As a recent study of the international group of scientists, led by Dr. Julien Vosher from the University Hospital, Lausanne, the use of marijuana, even unstable – from 5 doses, increases the risk of schizophrenia by about 40%. However, the mechanisms of this influence are still being studied.

One of the well -founded hypotheses: drug use disrupts the maturation of the cortex in adolescents. It is important to note that in some people drugs can cause psychosis – a relatively long state with delirium and hallucinations, which is very similar to what is observed with schizophrenia, but with schizophrenia is not.

Whether patients with schizophrenia are prone to violence?

No more than other people. At the same time, the violent crimes that they commit are often deprived, in the opinion of a healthy person, all motivation and so absurdly cruel that they attract great public attention. This is due to the very essence of the disease. After all, one of the criteria for diagnosis is delusional ideas that do not have an adequate explanation and are incompatible with generally accepted ideas about the order of things.

Are patients with schizophrenia capable of https://globalpharmacy24.com/drug/suhagra taking responsibility for their actions?

In general – yes. When we are talking about incapacity or insanity, this refers not to the diagnosis as a whole, but by the specific features of the state in which the crime was committed. In particular, a person can commit a crime under the influence of delusional ideas or hallucinations. The patient either cannot withstand these symptoms emotionally, or loses its connection with reality because of them.

However, even these manifestations of the disease can be resisted. For example, one patient tied himself up at night with ropes, as the voices “forced” him to harm his own children. Of course, this is a special case, and the only true way to avoid tragic consequences is a timely treatment.

Can a person who has been living next to a schizophrenic for many years, “imbued” with this state himself?

The state as a whole – no. However, there is a rather rare phenomenon-induced delusional disorder, it is also Lacega-Faalra syndrome or "insanity together". Delusional or hallucinatory images and ideas of the patient begins to share a person close to him.

This happens when the patient is significant and authoritative for the one to whom these ideas induces – for example, his son or daughter can share the delirium of a sick father. But authority is still not enough. In order for a person to penetrate strangers, and often rather unusual, ideas also need special conditions – increased suggestibility, insufficiently developed intelligence or even physically weak health.

Psychiatrists note that a person who divided nonsense with the patient can slightly transform these ideas, adapting them to reality. But I repeat, this is a very rare phenomenon, several conditions should come down at once. Typically, relatives of the sick at least understand that with him "something is wrong". It is impossible to become infected with schizophrenia!

How to behave to a person living with a schizophrenic? How to respond to his strange actions and statements?

Nonsense cannot be dispelled by arguments. This is his nature. So arguing with the patient is rather harmful, and assuming it makes no sense. But loved ones can still reduce the likelihood of a new attack, if they refrain from direct criticism and an irritable attitude to the patient’s actions, they will try to maintain a calm and friendly atmosphere in the family.

Schizophrenia cannot be cured?

So far, unfortunately, we are not talking about a complete cure, but the psychiatrists have learned to quite successfully cope with the acute manifestations of the disease, which cause the greatest suffering to the patient and his loved ones – excitement, delirium, hallucinations. Over time, the patient can grow negative symptoms-this happens in most cases: the patient becomes inactive, disinterested, he disappears and desire to strive for something to strive. They have not yet learned to fight with this with drugs. In these cases, participation in various psychotherapeutic groups helps some in these cases.

Is it true that there is no single schizophrenia gene, but there are eight different combinations of genes that contribute to the development of eight types of schizophrenia?

History of eight versions of schizophrenia – The consequence of the inaccurate interpretation of the very important and interesting work of Robert Clonger and his colleagues. Its main result is not the allocation of a number of sets of genes and the corresponding forms of the disease. Scientists have shown that different people at the heart of schizophrenia can have different genetic causes (genes of genes), and therefore the symptoms will differ.

Some sets were associated with sustainable delirium and hallucinations and the gradual deterioration of the patient’s mental state, others with certain disorders, for example, auditory hallucinations. Moreover, the same form of some kind of gene can increase the risk of developing the disease in some cases and reduce in others. The point is not in every specific gene, but in their combination, which can or not lead – to violations in the work of brain systems, the breakdown of which we call schizophrenia.

What research in this area will help to understand the nature of the disease?

From the pursuit of the mythical “schizophrenia genome”, scientists proceed to study how genes work, interacting with each other and responding to external influences. In particular, attention is drawn by processes called epigenetic. They regulate the work of genes, make some genes in the cell "be silent", while others "speak".

These studies should explain why people with the same set of schizophrenia genes can manifest themselves in different ways. In addition, we hope that epigenetics will help to understand how the events that occurred in early childhood or even before birth contribute to the appearance of the disease many years later – in adolescence and adulthood.