| 1 | Life Sci. 2001 Sep 69: 2147-56 |
|---|---|
| PMID | 11669458 |
| Title | Effect of chronic treatment with haloperidol on vasopressin release and behavioral changes by osmotic stimulation of the supraoptic nucleus. |
| Abstract | Chronic treatment with dopamine D2 blockers in schizophrenic patients has been proposed as one of the causes of polydipsia and water intoxication, but this conclusion is still controversial. To investigate the relationship between dopamine D2 blockers and these syndromes, we designed a behavioral and neurochemical study using hyperosmotic stimulation in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) by microdialysis after chronic treatment with haloperidol in rats. Animals were injected with haloperidol decanoate (20 mg/kg, i.m.) or sesame oil at 2-week intervals for 8 successive weeks. During the 7th week, water-intake was increased 30-60 min after the hyperosmotic stimulation in both groups, but more so in haloperidol-treated animals compared to that in the control group. Moreover, arginine vasopressin (AVP) was released by the hyperosmotic stimulation in SON, but was not significantly different between groups. In addition, striatal dopamine levels 3-4 days after the microdialysis study showed a significant decrease in the haloperidol-treated animals. These results suggest that chronic treatment with haloperidol enhances water-intake produced by hyperosmotic stimulation in the SON but does not increase AVP levels in dialysates following hyperosmotic stimulation. Thus, these symptoms may be mediated by dopaminergic systems in brain. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 2 | Clin. Genet. 2002 Oct 62: 321-4 |
| PMID | 12372061 |
| Title | Genetic and clinical analysis of spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 repeat expansion in Yugoslavia. |
| Abstract | Spinocerebellar ataxia type 8 (SCA8) is a slowly progressive ataxia causally associated with untranslated CTG repeat expansion on chromosome 13q21. However, the role of the CTG repeat in SCA8 pathology is not yet well understood. Therefore, we studied the length of the SCA8 CTA/CTG expansions (combined repeats, CRs) in 115 patients with ataxia, 64 unrelated individuals with non-triplet neuromuscular diseases, 70 unrelated patients with schizophrenia, and 125 healthy controls. Only one patient with apparently sporadic ataxia was identified with an expansion of 100 CRs. He had inherited the expansion from his asymptomatic father (140 CRs) and transmitted the mutation to his SON (92 CRs). Paternal transmission in this family produced contractions of 40 and 8 CRs, respectively. None of the subjects from other studied groups had an expansion at the SCA8 locus. In the control group the number of CRs at the SCA8 locus ranged from 14 to 34. Our findings support the notion that allelic variants of the expansion mutation at the SCA8 locus can predispose to ataxia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 3 | Zur Medizingesch Abh 2002 -1 -1: 1-293 |
| PMID | 12751501 |
| Title | [Dr. Jakob Lutz, life and work]. |
| Abstract | The life and work of the Zurich child and youth psychiatrist, Prof. Dr. med. J. Lutz, (25.1.1903 - 28.6.1998) is the subject of this report. It documents the outstanding achievements of Jakob Lutz as a doctor and scientist and tries to give a true portrayal of his impressive perSONality. A biographical part is dedicated to the perSONal and professional development of the SON of a family of train drivers from Appenzell, who, after studying medicine in Zurich, became the founder of the child and youth psychiatric service in the Canton of Zurich. A detailed report is given on the formation of the child an youth psychiatric service in the Canton of Zurich over almost 40 years. It begins in 1929, when med. prakt. Jakob Lutz took over management of the Stephansburg, the first observation unit for child psychiatry in Switzerland, and ends in 1968, when he retired, after becoming Director of the service an both extraordinary professor and honorary professor for child an youth psychiatry. Discussions on different forms of therapy in child an youth psychiatry include ideas on the therapeutic activity of Jakob Lutz himself and his demands on the perSONality and training of therapist in child and youth psychiatry. The chapter on child schizophrenia, autism and mentally handicapped children deals with special patient groups. All the chapters report on the specific medical scientific work of Jakob Lutz, always supplemented with quotations from his perSONal statements. Finally, there is also a brief assessment of the successor in the service, Prof. Dr. med. J. Corboz, the first ordinary professor for child and youth psychiatry at the University of Zurich. A list of Jakob Lutz's publications, a list of the lecture titles, and time charts supplement the report. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 4 | Med. Hypotheses 2002 Oct 59: 416-21 |
| PMID | 12208181 |
| Title | Did schizophrenia change the course of English history? The mental illness of Henry VI. |
| Abstract | Henry VI, King of England, at age 19 founded Eton College and King's College, Cambridge. At 31 he had a sudden, dramatic mental illness in which he was mute and unresponsive. Before, he had been paranoid, grandiose, and indecisive. After, he was apathetic with deterioration of ability, drive, interest and self-care, and hallucinations and religious delusions. This illness, which is consistent with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, robbed Henry of his perSONality, his crown, his wife, his only SON, and his life. It led to three decades of brutal fighting for the crown (the 'Wars of the Roses') that resulted in a new dynasty with a dramatic impact on the country: the Tudors, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I and their descendants. Henry's story illustrates how schizophrenia can devastate individuals and families and change the course of history and yet it raises questions about how achievement and illness are related. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 5 | Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi 2003 -1 105: 1037-44 |
| PMID | 14577287 |
| Title | [Structuralistic and meta-psychological approaches to ambivalence in schizophrenia]. |
| Abstract | The word "ambivalence" generally signifies a psychic state in which a subject holds a contradictory or conflicted attitude towards an object. The literal meaning of the word is that two valences occur simultaneously, and this connotes the epistemological and ethical problem of where and how the valences arise. The concept of ambivalence implies that the relationship between the subject and the world is ambivalent, that the subject has free will in the alternative evaluation, and that the meanings of the two valences derive from the meta-level outside the world. These reflections lead us to the supposition that ambivalence is closely associated with the function of language. The ambivalent attitude of the subject divides the significance of the object; the appearance of the given ambivalent meanings is the moment of the subject's choice. This phenomenon of division, choice, and given meanings is more than analogous to F. de Saussure's conception of language in terms of sign, différenciation, and l'arbitraire de langue. A view of ambivalence as a fundamental phenomenon concerning subject, world, and language affords insight specifically into ambivalence in schizophrenia. For people with schizophrenia, ambivalent conflict often takes the form of a dichotomy between "good and bad". The more severe the ambivalent symptom, the more similar it seems to a philosophical question about the nature of existence in the world. When schizophrenic people raise philosophical questions directly such as "Is my existence good or bad?" or "To be or not to be?", they seek approval for their existence, assaying to live with "good" intentions. Unfortunately they come to be blamed for harbouring "bad" intentions. When they have an interrogative attitude even to everyday matters, they cannot resolve such questions as "Is the red cup good or bad?", or "Is the green cup good or bad?", and hence "Which cup should I use?". If the projection of the self into the world is essentially the choice of a daily behavior as its own praxis, such indecisiveness thus entails existential conflict. The alternatives of choice appear before them as a tollgate to the world. Wishing admission to the world, they choose the thing that they think "good", but which later turns out to be "bad". These consequences sometimes occur in their inner conflicts and sometimes in their paranoidhallucinatory experiences. We have observed that in these processes, there is an inversion between "good and bad", and "bad" predominates, driving patients to despair. Rethinking E. Bleuler's conception of the ambivalence of schizophrenia, we have found that it is accessible to structuralistic and meta-psychological interpretations. From the viewpoint of linguistic semiology, ambivalence can be considered as a disorder of exclusive differentiation in the associative system resulting from the appearance of antithetical meanings, a phenomenon that is also common in primal words and children's thinking. In the context of psycho-analysis, it is suggested that the dominance of the negative side in ambivalence may be caused by death instinct. These interpretations are consistent with both the philosophical considerations and the clinical observations introduced above, but the problem of schizophrenic specificity is still opened beside the affinity between philosophical conflict and schizophrenic ambivalence. References to ethical and philosophical thinking shed light on the sources of the dichotomous existential conflict and the characteristic inversion between "good and bad" that schizophrenic patients experience. Descriptions of the root of ambivalence can be traced back to ancient times. In the Ecclesiastes of the Apocrypha, Jesus, SON of Sirach, elucidates the fundamental ambivalence of will, teaching that the subject has the power of its own choice: at its most extreme, the choice between life and death. In the modern age, L. Wittgenstein offers a strict description of this ambivalence in his "Notebooks 1914-1916". Wittgenstein doubted the possibility of pure subjectivity without individual will and furthermore argued that the will is either good or evil, that is, the bearer of good and evil. In his view, good and evil are somehow connected with the meaning of the world, and meaning ("Sinn" in German) is discerned from significance ("Bedeutung" in German). He went on to write that the meaning does not lie in the world but outside it. As K. Shingu has noted, Wittgenstein's conception is essentially consistent with psycho-analysis. The subject recognizes the world with ambivalent will, the world appears with ambivalent significance, but its ambivalent meaning is given from outside the world, that is, from the meta-level. For E. Husserl's concept of intentionality, it is said that the fundamental disorder of schizophrenia is a preverbal or pre-predicative problem that is connected with intentionality. Yet one wonders whether or not pure, neutral intentionality is really possible. Presumably, intentionality has an intrinsic ambivalence, since the fundamental relationship between the subject and the world may itself be ambivalent. When one becomes conscious of a thing, the potential exists to divide one's intentionality between "good and bad", and the thing thus appears as "good" or "bad". In the healthy psyche, this intrinsic ambivalence emerges only in ethical or philosophical thinking. In schizophrenia, however, the ambivalence of intentionality is explicitly engaged in diverse situations. The inversion of "good and bad" observed in the clinical context signifies that the will of the patient shifts from "good" to "bad", alluding to a contradiction between the subject and the world that is logically inevitable due to the structure of their relationship. The subject objectivfies the world positively, yet is contained by the world passively. That the subject simultaneously announces and is announced in the language system also reflects this paradoxical relationship. Thus, ambivalence of dichotomy between "good and bad" is the very basic phenomenon of consciousness, and the inversion of "good and bad" is a reflection of the structure of the relationship of the subject and the world. If the schizophrenic specificity exists, it may involve the exposure of this intrinsic ambivalence and this paradoxical structure in confrontations with the tellgate into the world under the dominance of the negative side. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 6 | Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi 2003 -1 105: 1037-44 |
| PMID | 14577287 |
| Title | [Structuralistic and meta-psychological approaches to ambivalence in schizophrenia]. |
| Abstract | The word "ambivalence" generally signifies a psychic state in which a subject holds a contradictory or conflicted attitude towards an object. The literal meaning of the word is that two valences occur simultaneously, and this connotes the epistemological and ethical problem of where and how the valences arise. The concept of ambivalence implies that the relationship between the subject and the world is ambivalent, that the subject has free will in the alternative evaluation, and that the meanings of the two valences derive from the meta-level outside the world. These reflections lead us to the supposition that ambivalence is closely associated with the function of language. The ambivalent attitude of the subject divides the significance of the object; the appearance of the given ambivalent meanings is the moment of the subject's choice. This phenomenon of division, choice, and given meanings is more than analogous to F. de Saussure's conception of language in terms of sign, différenciation, and l'arbitraire de langue. A view of ambivalence as a fundamental phenomenon concerning subject, world, and language affords insight specifically into ambivalence in schizophrenia. For people with schizophrenia, ambivalent conflict often takes the form of a dichotomy between "good and bad". The more severe the ambivalent symptom, the more similar it seems to a philosophical question about the nature of existence in the world. When schizophrenic people raise philosophical questions directly such as "Is my existence good or bad?" or "To be or not to be?", they seek approval for their existence, assaying to live with "good" intentions. Unfortunately they come to be blamed for harbouring "bad" intentions. When they have an interrogative attitude even to everyday matters, they cannot resolve such questions as "Is the red cup good or bad?", or "Is the green cup good or bad?", and hence "Which cup should I use?". If the projection of the self into the world is essentially the choice of a daily behavior as its own praxis, such indecisiveness thus entails existential conflict. The alternatives of choice appear before them as a tollgate to the world. Wishing admission to the world, they choose the thing that they think "good", but which later turns out to be "bad". These consequences sometimes occur in their inner conflicts and sometimes in their paranoidhallucinatory experiences. We have observed that in these processes, there is an inversion between "good and bad", and "bad" predominates, driving patients to despair. Rethinking E. Bleuler's conception of the ambivalence of schizophrenia, we have found that it is accessible to structuralistic and meta-psychological interpretations. From the viewpoint of linguistic semiology, ambivalence can be considered as a disorder of exclusive differentiation in the associative system resulting from the appearance of antithetical meanings, a phenomenon that is also common in primal words and children's thinking. In the context of psycho-analysis, it is suggested that the dominance of the negative side in ambivalence may be caused by death instinct. These interpretations are consistent with both the philosophical considerations and the clinical observations introduced above, but the problem of schizophrenic specificity is still opened beside the affinity between philosophical conflict and schizophrenic ambivalence. References to ethical and philosophical thinking shed light on the sources of the dichotomous existential conflict and the characteristic inversion between "good and bad" that schizophrenic patients experience. Descriptions of the root of ambivalence can be traced back to ancient times. In the Ecclesiastes of the Apocrypha, Jesus, SON of Sirach, elucidates the fundamental ambivalence of will, teaching that the subject has the power of its own choice: at its most extreme, the choice between life and death. In the modern age, L. Wittgenstein offers a strict description of this ambivalence in his "Notebooks 1914-1916". Wittgenstein doubted the possibility of pure subjectivity without individual will and furthermore argued that the will is either good or evil, that is, the bearer of good and evil. In his view, good and evil are somehow connected with the meaning of the world, and meaning ("Sinn" in German) is discerned from significance ("Bedeutung" in German). He went on to write that the meaning does not lie in the world but outside it. As K. Shingu has noted, Wittgenstein's conception is essentially consistent with psycho-analysis. The subject recognizes the world with ambivalent will, the world appears with ambivalent significance, but its ambivalent meaning is given from outside the world, that is, from the meta-level. For E. Husserl's concept of intentionality, it is said that the fundamental disorder of schizophrenia is a preverbal or pre-predicative problem that is connected with intentionality. Yet one wonders whether or not pure, neutral intentionality is really possible. Presumably, intentionality has an intrinsic ambivalence, since the fundamental relationship between the subject and the world may itself be ambivalent. When one becomes conscious of a thing, the potential exists to divide one's intentionality between "good and bad", and the thing thus appears as "good" or "bad". In the healthy psyche, this intrinsic ambivalence emerges only in ethical or philosophical thinking. In schizophrenia, however, the ambivalence of intentionality is explicitly engaged in diverse situations. The inversion of "good and bad" observed in the clinical context signifies that the will of the patient shifts from "good" to "bad", alluding to a contradiction between the subject and the world that is logically inevitable due to the structure of their relationship. The subject objectivfies the world positively, yet is contained by the world passively. That the subject simultaneously announces and is announced in the language system also reflects this paradoxical relationship. Thus, ambivalence of dichotomy between "good and bad" is the very basic phenomenon of consciousness, and the inversion of "good and bad" is a reflection of the structure of the relationship of the subject and the world. If the schizophrenic specificity exists, it may involve the exposure of this intrinsic ambivalence and this paradoxical structure in confrontations with the tellgate into the world under the dominance of the negative side. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 7 | J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 2003 Oct 10: 552-60 |
| PMID | 12956634 |
| Title | Experiences of parents with a son or daughter suffering from schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Parents of 22 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, and receiving care in a secure forensic setting, were interviewed to elicit their views on the causes of the disorder, the emotional burden and the helpfulness of others when seeking support. Pathological parenting theories of causation were rated the least important, and biological and life-event models the most. Stress, loss and fear were the most commonly reported reactions. Violence, withdrawal and verbal aggression were most often identified as behaviours causing difficulty. Many participants felt guilt, usually in the absence of being blamed. Family members and self-help groups were recalled as being of most help, and professional staff were considered to be of least help. Parenting a SON or daughter with schizophrenia frequently causes considerable emotional distress, often with perception of unhelpful responses from professional staff. Parents often blame themselves for the disorder, even when not blamed by others. Guilt does not appear to arise from belief in a pathological parenting model of schizophrenia. Factors contributing to self-blame in this group are discussed, together with suggestions for appropriate therapeutic intervention. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 8 | J Med Assoc Thai 2004 Dec 87: 1526-9 |
| PMID | 15822553 |
| Title | Environmental reduplication in a patient with right middle cerebral artery occlusion. |
| Abstract | Environmental reduplication or reduplicative paramnesia is one of the content-specific delusions (CSD) which is characterized by reduplication of places. CSD has been reported in focal and diffuse cerebral disorders. A focal lesion such as frontal lobes and the right hemispheric lesion have been documented The authors describe a 66 year-old woman who had a delusion of misidentification for place one month after right middle cerebral artery occlusion. The patient did not have any history of schizophrenia or other psychiatric diseases. The patient believed that her car, furniture and house were duplicated. She also mentioned that her SON and friends tried to takeover all of her properties and told everyone that she was insane. The prominent cortical signs were tactile and visual neglect. Neuropsychological assessments revealed poor attention but she had neither confusion nor dementia. Clock drawing and construction tests revealed visuospatial impairment which was compatible with non-dominant hemispheric abnormality. MRI showed evidence of cerebral infarction in the right middle cerebral artery territory. Only one similar patient who had an intracerbral hematoma of the right frontal lobe has been reported in the literature. The role of occipito-parietal and fronto-temporal lobes or their connections in environmental reduplication is proposed. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 9 | J Intellect Disabil Res 2004 Sep 48: 531-9 |
| PMID | 15312053 |
| Title | Elevated rates of schizophrenia in a familial sample with mental illness and intellectual disability. |
| Abstract | It is unknown whether intellectual disability (ID) is more familially related to psychotic mood disorders or schizophrenia. L. S. Penrose's large sample of families with two or more members admitted to psychiatric hospitals provided a unique opportunity to investigate the familial relationship between mild ID, schizophrenia and psychotic affective disorders. There were 183 affected relative pairs comprising probands with mild ID (95 male, 88 female) and their first or second degree relatives with schizophrenia or psychotic affective disorder. There were nearly twice as many relatives with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (n = 121) as relatives with affective disorders (n = 62) among the intellectually impaired probands. This excess of schizophrenia was statistically significant, even after accounting for the increased risk of hospitalization for schizophrenia (P = 0.005), and was fairly constant across the different relative types. First-degree relatives with either mental illness were more likely to be parents (n = 77) than siblings (n = 51) or children (n = 3), but there was no excess of mother-SON pairs. These results suggest a stronger familial relationship of ID with schizophrenia than psychotic affective disorder, and lend some support to the neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 10 | Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi 2005 -1 107: 1159-68 |
| PMID | 16408424 |
| Title | [Consideration of the concepts of "remission" and "cured" in schizophrenia: a male case who experienced schizophrenia with psycho-motoric excitation 30 years ago]. |
| Abstract | Since the era of Kraepelin and Bleuler, schizophrenia has been considered to be very difficult to cure. Even if all symptoms of its acute phase have disappeared completely, it is customary to use the terms say "remission" instead of "cured". The chief reaSON why they have been unwilling to say "cured" is that, even if the present state seems to be "cured", there will be surely another attack in near future, so, the non-symptomatic state should not be understood as "cured". Whether schizophrenic patients can be cured or not is one of the great problems of modern psychiatry. Is there no probability for them to be cured? Recently, after a 30 years gap, I came to meet a man who had had a schizophrenic attack of the psychomotoric type when he was 25 years old and had been sent to the mental hospital where I had been at work and, by chance, had engaged in his treatment. After about 5 months' of acute state, he came at, so to speak, "Residualzustand" (Conrad) for about 1 year and then got insight into his psychosis. After the discharge, he had visited me as an outpatient once a month regularly. About one year thereafter, the change of my work place made us separate from each other. Since then, he stopped visiting the doctor and also stopped taking anti-psychotic drugs. He married at 29 years old and had 2 daughters and a SON. In addition, he had started to work for his father's business. After his father's death, he became the owner of 5 shops and the supervisor of 50 workers. Is he not yet "cured"? Is he only in the state of "remission" even now? According to the principle of Kraepelin and Bleuler, he is not "cured" yet, because he will surely have a psychotic exacerbation in future. I wonder then, what is the difference of the two concepts of "remission" and "cured", and how is it possible to change "remission" to "cured"? Even Bleuler, E. has written in his world-famous textbook that the longer the duration of remission after the last attack, the smaller the probability of the next attack, and that after about 5 years free of attack, another exacerbation would be very improbable. Supported by the experiences of Utena, Miya and so forth, I proposed a thesis that if a perSON who had undergone schizophrenic attack has been in complete remission for more than 10 years, he can surely be counted as "cured". To verify this probability about the outcome of schizophrenia, it is very important for us to observe any patient who has attained the state of complete remission, and to describe and report his state thereafter as long enough as |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 11 | Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi 2005 -1 107: 1159-68 |
| PMID | 16408424 |
| Title | [Consideration of the concepts of "remission" and "cured" in schizophrenia: a male case who experienced schizophrenia with psycho-motoric excitation 30 years ago]. |
| Abstract | Since the era of Kraepelin and Bleuler, schizophrenia has been considered to be very difficult to cure. Even if all symptoms of its acute phase have disappeared completely, it is customary to use the terms say "remission" instead of "cured". The chief reaSON why they have been unwilling to say "cured" is that, even if the present state seems to be "cured", there will be surely another attack in near future, so, the non-symptomatic state should not be understood as "cured". Whether schizophrenic patients can be cured or not is one of the great problems of modern psychiatry. Is there no probability for them to be cured? Recently, after a 30 years gap, I came to meet a man who had had a schizophrenic attack of the psychomotoric type when he was 25 years old and had been sent to the mental hospital where I had been at work and, by chance, had engaged in his treatment. After about 5 months' of acute state, he came at, so to speak, "Residualzustand" (Conrad) for about 1 year and then got insight into his psychosis. After the discharge, he had visited me as an outpatient once a month regularly. About one year thereafter, the change of my work place made us separate from each other. Since then, he stopped visiting the doctor and also stopped taking anti-psychotic drugs. He married at 29 years old and had 2 daughters and a SON. In addition, he had started to work for his father's business. After his father's death, he became the owner of 5 shops and the supervisor of 50 workers. Is he not yet "cured"? Is he only in the state of "remission" even now? According to the principle of Kraepelin and Bleuler, he is not "cured" yet, because he will surely have a psychotic exacerbation in future. I wonder then, what is the difference of the two concepts of "remission" and "cured", and how is it possible to change "remission" to "cured"? Even Bleuler, E. has written in his world-famous textbook that the longer the duration of remission after the last attack, the smaller the probability of the next attack, and that after about 5 years free of attack, another exacerbation would be very improbable. Supported by the experiences of Utena, Miya and so forth, I proposed a thesis that if a perSON who had undergone schizophrenic attack has been in complete remission for more than 10 years, he can surely be counted as "cured". To verify this probability about the outcome of schizophrenia, it is very important for us to observe any patient who has attained the state of complete remission, and to describe and report his state thereafter as long enough as |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 12 | Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2005 Feb 40: 133-8 |
| PMID | 15685405 |
| Title | Quality of life and burden in parents of outpatients with schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Since the late 1950s, several studies have reported the burden faced by families living with a mentally ill relative. These studies have pointed out the importance of a progressive mental health service, focusing not only on the treatment of the patients, but also on the needs of the relatives. The aims of the present study were to compare the quality of life of parents of outpatients with schizophrenia with a randomly selected reference group and the relation between quality of life and burden on the parents. The sample comprised all parents (n=38) of outpatients with schizophrenia at an outpatient clinic in 2001, where the patients had contact at least once a week with both parents and staff. The parents were compared with a reference group (n=698). The self-rating scale Quality of Life Index (QLI) was used to assess quality of life in both groups. In the case of the parents, semistructured interviews were supplemented by the data collection to assess the degree of burden with the Burden Assessment Scale (BAS). The outpatients were also interviewed to assess their global function with the Global Assessment of Functioning scale (GAF) and the Clinical Global Impression scale (CGI). The parents were significantly less satisfied with their overall quality of life (p<0.05). There was a correlation between lower overall quality of life and higher perceived burden r=0.58 (p<0.01). There was also a correlation between lower values on the family subscale and social subscale within the QLI and higher subjective burden r=0.54 (p<0.01) and r=0.52 (p<0.01), respectively. These results indicate that caregiving has an influence on the family situation and on the quality of life of parents. These findings suggest that the professions working with the parents must have an approach focusing not only on the care given to the ill daughter or SON, but also on the parents' situation. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 13 | Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 2006 Jul 30: 785-96 |
| PMID | 16626847 |
| Title | March 27, 1827 and what happened later--the impact of psychiatry on evolutionary theory. |
| Abstract | In the interaction between Psychiatry and evolutionary theory the force of the impact has not always been in one direction. The Brownes, father and SON, had an influence on the development of Darwin's theory at different points in the nineteenth century. The crystallization by Miskolczy in 1933 of the concept that schizophrenia is a disorder that is specific to Homo sapiens is another example. In 1964 the formulation of the central paradox of psychosis by Huxley, Mayr and co-authors and the subsequent critique by Kuttner et al. of the solution Huxley et al. had offered opened up evolutionary approaches to aetiology. Here it is argued that a resolution of this paradox requires identification of the speciation event for modern H. sapiens and elucidation of its neuroanatomical and physiological consequences. It necessitates a saltational account of species transitions and the recognition of species-specific genetic variation. Pursuit of these objectives leads to the hypothesis that speciation events occur selectively on the heterogametic chromosome (the Y in mammals) and are followed by a phase of sexual selection to establish a new specific mate recognition system. In H. sapiens the core component of this system is the capacity for language; the nuclear symptoms of schizophrenia are necessary clues to its neural structure. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 14 | Psychiatr Serv 2006 Dec 57: 1771-7 |
| PMID | 17158493 |
| Title | Prosocial family processes and the quality of life of persons with schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Research on the family's contribution to the quality of life of perSONs with serious mental illness has largely focused on negative family interactions associated with poorer client outcomes. The purpose of this naturalistic study of aging mothers and adults with schizophrenia was to investigate prosocial family processes that potentially enhance, rather than detract from, the life satisfaction of perSONs with serious mental illness. The data were drawn from a longitudinal study of aging parents caring for a SON or daughter with schizophrenia. This report is based on 122 mother-adult child dyads who participated in the third wave of the study. Mothers completed an in-home interview and questionnaire that included measures of the quality of the relationship between the mother and adult child, maternal warmth, and maternal praise of the adult child. The adult with schizophrenia completed a life satisfaction questionnaire. The adults with schizophrenia had higher life satisfaction when their mothers expressed greater warmth and praise of their SON or daughter with schizophrenia and when their mothers reported the quality of their relationship as being close and mutually supportive. Past research has emphasized changing families, most typically by lowering expressed emotion, with little emphasis on the families' strengths, in particular, prosocial family processes that may enhance the life satisfaction of their loved one. As a recovery orientation focuses on the strengths of adults with mental illness, it also should focus equally on the supportive presence of families in the lives of clients. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 15 | Ann Gen Psychiatry 2007 -1 6: 33 |
| PMID | 18086296 |
| Title | A familial concurrence of schizophrenia and Gaucher's disease. |
| Abstract | Gaucher's disease (GD) is the most frequently encountered lysosomal storage disease. Here, we describe and discuss the observed concurrence of schizophrenia and Gaucher's disease in two siblings. Presentation of a family with two siblings with Gaucher's disease. In a six-member family, the first SON suffers from schizophrenia, while the third and fourth SONs suffer from the Gaucher's disease (type 1 non-neuronopathic). The parents and the second SON do not suffer from either illness. The concurrence of schizophrenia and Gaucher's disease in the same family is an unusual phenomenon. The literature regarding this coincidence is limited, despite the fact that patients with Gaucher's disease have one or two mutated alleles, considered to be a risk factor leading to conditions such as Dementia, ParkinSON's disease and schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 16 | Psychiatr Danub 2007 Sep 19: 154-72 |
| PMID | 17914315 |
| Title | The patient with schizophrenia and his father. The father's role and personality traits in the dynamics of the family with a son suffering from schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | The role of the father in the onset and development of schizophrenic disorder/disturbance is very often secondary as compared to that of the mother. This study deals with the father's sphere in the family with a patient/SON suffering from schizophrenia, the traits of his perSONality and his relationship with his SON/patient, and with his wife/the mother of the patient. The methods applied were clinical interview, structured interview and semantic differential. The following statistical procedures were used: correlation, componential, discriminative, factor and quasicanonical analyses. The results include some characteristic excerpts from clinical interviews with patients/SONs and their fathers, projective perception of current family relationships, quasicanonical analysis of the father's, mother's and SON's experiences of the patient's/SON's early childhood, and the projective view of the father. Among the conclusions reached, the phenomenon of "dead father" is emphasized as one of the main factors in the onset and development of schizophrenic disorder/disturbance. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 17 | Psychiatr Danub 2007 Sep 19: 154-72 |
| PMID | 17914315 |
| Title | The patient with schizophrenia and his father. The father's role and personality traits in the dynamics of the family with a son suffering from schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | The role of the father in the onset and development of schizophrenic disorder/disturbance is very often secondary as compared to that of the mother. This study deals with the father's sphere in the family with a patient/SON suffering from schizophrenia, the traits of his perSONality and his relationship with his SON/patient, and with his wife/the mother of the patient. The methods applied were clinical interview, structured interview and semantic differential. The following statistical procedures were used: correlation, componential, discriminative, factor and quasicanonical analyses. The results include some characteristic excerpts from clinical interviews with patients/SONs and their fathers, projective perception of current family relationships, quasicanonical analysis of the father's, mother's and SON's experiences of the patient's/SON's early childhood, and the projective view of the father. Among the conclusions reached, the phenomenon of "dead father" is emphasized as one of the main factors in the onset and development of schizophrenic disorder/disturbance. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 18 | J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2007 Jul 195: 596-600 |
| PMID | 17632250 |
| Title | Coping in parents of schizophrenia patients with differing degrees of familial exposure to psychosis. |
| Abstract | Over the past 50 years, parents have become more involved in the care of their schizophrenic SONs and daughters. Although such responsibility can be gratifying, parents frequently report feeling burdened and distressed. These feelings may affect parents' coping strategies in times of stress. This study examined the effects of family history of psychosis on coping styles in parents of patients. Coping strategies of parents with and without additional first-degree relatives suffering from psychosis (besides the index SON or daughter) and controls were compared. As predicted, more family history of psychosis was negatively related to coping ability in parents. Findings suggest that greater familial exposure to psychosis may have an adverse effect on their ability to deal with life stressors. Results are discussed in light of the possible influence of genetic and environmental factors. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 19 | J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 2007 Jul 195: 596-600 |
| PMID | 17632250 |
| Title | Coping in parents of schizophrenia patients with differing degrees of familial exposure to psychosis. |
| Abstract | Over the past 50 years, parents have become more involved in the care of their schizophrenic SONs and daughters. Although such responsibility can be gratifying, parents frequently report feeling burdened and distressed. These feelings may affect parents' coping strategies in times of stress. This study examined the effects of family history of psychosis on coping styles in parents of patients. Coping strategies of parents with and without additional first-degree relatives suffering from psychosis (besides the index SON or daughter) and controls were compared. As predicted, more family history of psychosis was negatively related to coping ability in parents. Findings suggest that greater familial exposure to psychosis may have an adverse effect on their ability to deal with life stressors. Results are discussed in light of the possible influence of genetic and environmental factors. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 20 | Philos Ethics Humanit Med 2007 -1 2: 12 |
| PMID | 17608933 |
| Title | The encounter with God in myth and madness. |
| Abstract | It is well known how often psychiatric patients report religious experiences. These are especially frequent in schizophrenic and epileptic patients as the subject of their delusions. The question we pose is: are there differences between this kind of religious experiences and those we find in religious texts or in the mythological tradition? An overview on famous mythological narratives, such as The Aeneid, allows us to establish that the divinities become recognizable to the human being at the moment of their departure. Thus, Aeneas does not recognise his mother, Venus, when she appears to him in the middle of the forest at the coast of Africa. A dialogue between the two takes place, and only at the end of the encounter, when she is going away and already with her back to Aeneas, she shows her SON the signs of her divinity: the rose-flush emanating from her neck, her hair perfume and the majesty of her gait. Something analogous can be observed in the encounter of Moses with Yahweh on Mount Sinai. Moses asks God: "Show me your glory, I beg you". And God replies, among other things: "you shall see the back of me, but my face is not to be seen". In the same sense, the Emmaus disciples do not recognise Jesus till the moment of his disappearance ("but he had vanished from their sight"), and Saul of Tars falls off his horse just in the moment when he feels the divine presence. In short, the direct encounter with the divinity seems not to occur in the realm of myth or in religious tradition. The realm of madness is exactly the opposite. Our research on religious experiences in schizophrenic and epileptic patients leads us to conclude that God appears to them face to face, and the patient describes God the father, Jesus or the Virgin Mary in intimate detail, always in an everyday setting. So, the divinity is seen in the garden, or in the bedroom, or maybe above the wardrobe, without any of its majesty. The nearness to God also tends to be so extreme that even an identification of patient and God can occur. That light emanating from the world of the divine ceases to be perceived by them. While in mythological narratives God appears to the human being at the moment of His departure or showing His back, psychiatric patients with religious delusions experience the divinity in a direct way, face to face. Given the deformation of the divine occurring on the edge of madness we can better understand the mysterious words from Yahweh to Moses in Exodus: "for man cannot see me and live". |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 21 | Psychiatr Serv 2009 Jul 60: 982-4 |
| PMID | 19564232 |
| Title | Aging fathers of adult children with schizophrenia: the toll of caregiving on their mental and physical health. |
| Abstract | The primary purpose of this study was to compare the physical and psychological well-being of caregiving fathers of an adult SON or daughter with schizophrenia with a compariSON group of fathers who do not have children with schizophrenia. Data for the caregiving fathers (N=95) were drawn from a study of families of adults with schizophrenia; the compariSON group of fathers (N=95) was drawn from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS). Samples were matched on sociodemographic variables and analyzed with independent-samples t tests. Fathers of adults with schizophrenia experienced higher levels of depression, poorer perceived health, lower levels of psychological well-being, and less marital satisfaction compared with their age-matched peers in the WLS. This study found hidden perSONal costs of caregiving among fathers of adults with schizophrenia; strategies are needed for supporting these fathers. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 22 | Blood Press. 2009 -1 18: 126-9 |
| PMID | 19437173 |
| Title | Recurrent posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in mitochondrial disorder. |
| Abstract | Recurrent posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) has not been reported in association with multi-system mitochondrial disorder (MID). In a 60-year-old HIV-negative, Caucasian female with short stature, double vision, struma, memory impairment, chronic renal failure requiring hemodialysis, seizures, intermittent atrial fibrillation, arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia, anemia, hypacusis, tinnitus, and a daughter with multiple sclerosis, short stature and hypothyroidism; another daughter with schizophrenia, and a SON who died from encephalopathy at age 3 months, an MID was suspected. At age 53 years, she experienced sudden, transient blindness for 2 days bilaterally during an episode of high blood pressure with complete recovery within 2 weeks. At age 60 years, a similar episode occurred. Four weeks later, she experienced a third PRES episode with high blood pressure, seizures, impaired consciousness and reversible blindness for 2 days. MRI at the second episode was indicative of a PRES, and MRI at the third episode additionally revealed occipital bleedings, acute embolic stroke and features indicating PRES. This case indicates that MID may be associated with recurrent PRES, triggered by recurrent episodes of high blood pressure. Whether high blood pressure was a manifestation of the MID or related to other causes remains speculative. PRES does not seem to be a primary but is rather a secondary manifestation of an MID. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 23 | Addict Behav 2009 Oct 34: 867-77 |
| PMID | 19375870 |
| Title | Family intervention for co-occurring substance use and severe psychiatric disorders: participant characteristics and correlates of initial engagement and more extended exposure in a randomized controlled trial. |
| Abstract | Clients with severe mental illness and substance use disorder (i.e., dual disorders) frequently have contact with family members, who may provide valuable emotional and material support, but have limited skills and knowledge to promote recovery. Furthermore, high levels of family conflict and stress are related to higher rates of relapse. The present study was a two-site randomized controlled trial comparing a comprehensive, behaviorally-based family intervention for dual disorders program (FIDD) to a shorter-term family psychoeducational program (FPE). The modal family was a single male SON in his early 30s diagnosed with both alcohol and drug problems and a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder participating with his middle-aged mother, with whom he lived. Initial engagement rates following consent to participate in the study and the family intervention programs were moderately high for both programs (88% and 84%, respectively), but rates of longer term retention and exposure to the core elements of each treatment model were lower (61% and 55%, respectively). Characteristics of the relatives were the strongest predictors of successful initial engagement in the family programs with the most important predictor being relatives who reported higher levels of benefit related to the relationship with the client. Subsequent successful exposure to the family treatment models was more strongly associated with client factors, including less severity of drug abuse and male client gender. The results suggest that attention to issues of motivating relatives to participate in family intervention, and more focused efforts to address the disruptive effects of drug abuse on the family could improve rates of engagement and retention in family programs for dual disorders. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 24 | J Fam Soc Work 2010 May 13: 227-250 |
| PMID | 20640047 |
| Title | Latina Mothers Caring for a Son or Daughter with Autism or Schizophrenia: Similarities, Differences and the Relationship Between Co-Residency and Maternal Well-Being. |
| Abstract | In this cross-sectional study, we examined similarities and differences in depressive symptoms and psychological well-being between Latina maternal caregivers of perSONs with autism (N=29) and schizophrenia (N=33). We also explored predictors of maternal outcomes and the relationship of co-residence to them. Regression analysis found that mothers of adults with schizophrenia had lower levels of psychological well-being than mothers of youth or adults with autism. For the overall sample of mothers, co-residing with their SON or daughter was significantly related to lower levels of depressive symptoms. Qualitative analysis of the nine mothers who lived apart from their SON or daughter revealed that extreme behavior problems of the SON or daughter and poor maternal health contributed to living apart. Despite overcoming these challenges, mothers expressed a profound sense of sadness about their SON or daughters' living arrangements. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 25 | J Res Med Sci 2011 Mar 16 Suppl 1: S453-5 |
| PMID | 22247734 |
| Title | Folie à deux and delusional disorder by proxy in a family. |
| Abstract | This report presents a 52-year-old woman who was admitted to nephrology ward with hypernatremia. She shared a persecutory delusion of poiSONing with her 22-year-old daughter and did not feed her 8-year-old SON due to her delusion. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 26 | Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci 2011 -1 48: 140-1 |
| PMID | 22120454 |
| Title | Does the duration of untreated psychosis affect prognosis in schizophrenia? |
| Abstract | Clinical Dilemma: 'An 18-year-old patient, who has been suffering from a prolonged psychotic state, is hospitalized for the first time in his life in our department. We diagnose his condition as schizophrenia, and start anti-psychotic medication and supportive psychotherapy. His parents join the psycho-educational group for families in our department. After one of the group sessions, his parents worriedly approach us with the question whether the fact that their SON had been psychotic and had not received anti-psychotic medications for many months before his hospitalization predicts a bad prognosis for his disease course and outcome. Does the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) affect prognosis in schizophrenia?' |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 27 | Psychiatry Investig 2011 Jun 8: 107-12 |
| PMID | 21852986 |
| Title | The Effects of Social Skills Training vs. Psychoeducation on Negative Attitudes of Mothers of Persons with Schizophrenia: A Pilot Study. |
| Abstract | We compared the effects of two brief psychoeducation programs and social skills training on the negative attitudes of mothers with a SON who has schizophrenia. 15 mothers with strong negative feelings towards a SONs with schizophrenia were assigned by convenience to participate in one of three brief (5 session) group programs at an outpatient clinic: lecture-based psychoeducation, video-based psychoeducation, or social skills training. Assessments using the Patient Rejection Scale were conducted with the mothers at post-treatment, and 3-, 6-, and 9-months later. Mothers in the three groups demonstrated significantly different patterns of changes in their negative attitudes following treatment. Whereas the mothers who received the two psychoeducation interventions showed reductions in rejecting attitudes immediately following the program, their scores gradually increased at the subsequent follow-up assessments. In contrast, the mothers in the social skills training group showed reductions in negative attitudes that were sustained across all of the follow-up assessments. Brief social skills training may be more effective than psychoeducation in reducing negative attitudes of parents who have an offspring with schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 28 | Neurosci. Res. 2011 Feb 69: 154-60 |
| PMID | 20955740 |
| Title | A novel balanced chromosomal translocation found in subjects with schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder: altered l-serine level associated with disruption of PSAT1 gene expression. |
| Abstract | l-Serine is required for the synthesis of glycine and d-serine, both of which are NMDA receptor co-agonists. Although roles for d-serine and glycine have been suggested in schizophrenia, little is known about the role of the l-serine synthesizing cascade in schizophrenia or related psychiatric conditions. Here we report a patient with schizophrenia carrying a balanced chromosomal translocation with the breakpoints localized to 3q13.12 and 9q21.2. We examined this proband and her SON with schizotypal perSONality disorder for chromosomal abnormalities, molecular expression profiles, and serum amino acids. Marked decrease of l-serine and glutamate was observed in the sera of the patient and her SON, compared with those in normal controls. Interestingly, expression of PSAT1 gene, which is located next to the breakpoint and encodes one of the enzymes in the l-serine synthesizing cascade, was reduced in both patient and her SON. Direct effect of impaired PSAT1 gene expression on decreased serum l-serine level was strongly implicated by rat astrocyte experiments. In summary, we propose an idea that PSAT1 may be implicated in altered serine metabolism and schizophrenia spectrum conditions. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 29 | Neurosci. Res. 2011 Feb 69: 154-60 |
| PMID | 20955740 |
| Title | A novel balanced chromosomal translocation found in subjects with schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder: altered l-serine level associated with disruption of PSAT1 gene expression. |
| Abstract | l-Serine is required for the synthesis of glycine and d-serine, both of which are NMDA receptor co-agonists. Although roles for d-serine and glycine have been suggested in schizophrenia, little is known about the role of the l-serine synthesizing cascade in schizophrenia or related psychiatric conditions. Here we report a patient with schizophrenia carrying a balanced chromosomal translocation with the breakpoints localized to 3q13.12 and 9q21.2. We examined this proband and her SON with schizotypal perSONality disorder for chromosomal abnormalities, molecular expression profiles, and serum amino acids. Marked decrease of l-serine and glutamate was observed in the sera of the patient and her SON, compared with those in normal controls. Interestingly, expression of PSAT1 gene, which is located next to the breakpoint and encodes one of the enzymes in the l-serine synthesizing cascade, was reduced in both patient and her SON. Direct effect of impaired PSAT1 gene expression on decreased serum l-serine level was strongly implicated by rat astrocyte experiments. In summary, we propose an idea that PSAT1 may be implicated in altered serine metabolism and schizophrenia spectrum conditions. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 30 | Int J Soc Psychiatry 2011 May 57: 300-11 |
| PMID | 20197457 |
| Title | A comparison of levels of burden in Indian and white parents with a son or daughter with schizophrenia. |
| Abstract | Caregiver burden in mental illness is believed to differ between ethnic groups, but few studies have examined this in schizophrenia in the UK. To measure burden in British North Indian Sikh and white British parents with a SON or daughter with established schizophrenia managed in outpatient care. A cross-cultural cohort study measuring family factors, patient psychopathology and levels of burden and distress. Overall levels of burden were low with no significant differences between the groups. Burden subscale scores showed Indian parents were more affected by psychotic behaviours than white parents. The groups also differed on several sociodemographic variables. In stabilized community patients, the overall extent of burden experienced by both Indian and white parents is low and comparable. However, Indian parents were more burdened by psychotic behaviours. This may be a result of co-residence as Indian patients are more likely to live with their families. Social and economic factors in the country of residence and levels of acculturation may also influence levels of burden and the illness behaviours found most bothersome by parents. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 31 | Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2012 Aug 262: 365-74 |
| PMID | 22167530 |
| Title | Reduced density of hypothalamic VGF-immunoreactive neurons in schizophrenia: a potential link to impaired growth factor signaling and energy homeostasis. |
| Abstract | Protein expression of VGF (nonacronymic) is induced by nerve/brain-derived growth factor, neurotrophin 3, and insulin. VGF is synthesized by neurons in the paraventricular (PVN) and supraoptic (SON) nuclei of the hypothalamus. After enzymatic processing, smaller VGF-derived peptides are secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or blood. These peptides play important roles by improving synaptic plasticity, neurogenesis, and energy homeostasis, which are impaired in schizophrenia. Based on previous observations of neuroendocrine and hypothalamic deficits in schizophrenia and to determine whether increased levels of the VGF fragment 23-62 in CSF, which have been described in a recent study, were related to changes in hypothalamic VGF expression, an immunohistochemical study was performed in 20 patients with schizophrenia and 19 matched control subjects. N- (D-20) and C-terminal (R-15) VGF antibodies yielded similar results and immunolabeled a vast majority of PVN and SON neurons. Additionally, D20-VGF immunohistochemistry revealed immunostained fibers in the pituitary stalk and neurohypophysis that ended at vessel walls, suggesting axonal transport and VGF secretion. The cell density of D20-VGF-immunoreactive neurons was reduced in the left PVN (P = 0.002) and SON (P = 0.008) of patients with schizophrenia. This study provides the first evidence for diminished hypothalamic VGF levels in schizophrenia, which might suggest increased protein secretion. Our finding was particularly significant in subjects without metabolic syndrome (patients with a body mass index ?28.7 kg/m(2)). In conclusion, apart from beneficial effects on synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis, VGF may be linked to schizophrenia-related alterations in energy homeostasis. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 32 | Cell. Signal. 2013 Oct 25: 2060-8 |
| PMID | 23770287 |
| Title | Rit subfamily small GTPases: regulators in neuronal differentiation and survival. |
| Abstract | Ras family small GTPases serve as binary molecular switches to regulate a broad array of cellular signaling cascades, playing essential roles in a vast range of normal physiological processes, with dysregulation of numerous Ras-superfamily G-protein-dependent regulatory cascades underlying the development of human disease. However, the physiological function for many "orphan" Ras-related GTPases remain poorly characterized, including members of the Rit subfamily GTPases. Rit is the founding member of a novel branch of the Ras subfamily, sharing close homology with the neuronally expressed Rin and Drosophila Ric GTPases. Here, we highlight recent studies using transgenic and knockout animal models which have begun to elucidate the physiological roles for the Rit subfamily, including emerging roles in the regulation of neuronal morphology and cellular survival signaling, and discuss new genetic data implicating Rit and Rin signaling in disorders such as cancer, ParkinSON's disease, autism, and schizophrenia. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 33 | Shanghai Arch Psychiatry 2013 Feb 25: 52-4 |
| PMID | 24991134 |
| Title | Case report of Folie à Trois. |
| Abstract | A 50-year-old factory worker was admitted to hospital following an altercation with fellow workers. He reported a 25-year history of grandiose delusions related to being a special agent for the Taiwanese and US governments (for which he had been paid 100 million dollars) and paranoid delusions related to persecution by China's national security agencies. After detailed assessment by several specialists he was diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia. His 48-year-old wife stated that his reports of working as a secret agent were true and that she herself was under scrutiny by the security forces. His 26-year-old SON (who was unmarried and still lived with his parents) reported that his father was a 'Great Man' with special abilities who was unfairly persecuted and stated that he, too, had been secretly followed. The delusions reported by the wife and SON were judged to be induced by those of the patient and so this was determined to be a case of Folie à Trois. After one week of treatment with risperidone - which did not influence the patient's delusional system - he was removed from hospital by his wife and stopped treatment. Three months later the three family members continued to believe that the reported events were true. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 34 | Med Humanit 2014 Dec 40: 84-9 |
| PMID | 24567424 |
| Title | Literature as an exploration of the phenomenology of schizophrenia: disorder and recovery in Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son. |
| Abstract | When read as a fictional psychosis narrative, Jesus' SON, a collection of short stories by Denis JohnSON, reveals important elements of the phenomenology of schizophrenia and recovery. It is possible that Jesus' SON, as a work of fiction, may be able to uniquely add depth and nuance to an understanding of the phenomenology of schizophrenia involving a state of psychological fragmentation, an ever-changing interperSONal field and a loss of perSONal agency. In addition, by following the protagonist in Jesus' SON as he begins to resolve some of his difficulties, the book also offers an individualised account of recovery. The authors detail how the book reveals these insights about schizophrenia and recovery and suggest that these elements are intertwined in such a manner that leads to a profound disruption of self-experience, characterised by a collapse of metacognitive processes. Jesus' SON may add depth to our understanding of the subjective experience of schizophrenia and recovery, and also may serve as one example in which the study of humanities offers an opportunity to explore the human elements in the most profound forms of suffering. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 35 | J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 2014 Mar 21: 145-53 |
| PMID | 23593964 |
| Title | Parents' experience of living with and caring for an adult son or daughter with schizophrenia at home in Ireland: a qualitative study. |
| Abstract | This study explored the experience of parents living with, and caring for, an adult SON or daughter with schizophrenia. There is increasing emphasis on the involvement of carers and users in the care for people with schizophrenia. 'A Vision for Change' highlights the need for a partnership approach and emphasizes that carers are an integral part in the planning and delivery of mental health services. In order to meet such requests, it was necessary to explore the meaning of caregiving for Irish families. A descriptive qualitative design was used to enable parents to describe their experiences. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of six parents in Ireland were carried out in 2007. The study encompassed four major themes: psychological tsunami, caring activities, coping with enduring illness and an uncertain pathway. Parents reported severe psychological distress when their SON or daughter was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Their deep sense of loss was followed by acceptance of the situation. Feelings of love and a sense of responsibility helped to give meaning to their caring role. This study gave a voice to some parents of a SON or daughter with schizophrenia. A family-centred approach should be at the core of care planning for this vulnerable population. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 36 | Am J Forensic Med Pathol 2015 Sep 36: 210-5 |
| PMID | 26087315 |
| Title | Filicide-Suicide: Case Series and Review of the Literature. |
| Abstract | Homicide-suicides or "dyadic deaths" refer to a homicide followed by the suicide of the perpetrator within 1 week of the homicide. A unique subset is filicide-suicide: a parent kills his/her child before committing suicide. Shooting is the preferred method for both the homicide and suicide. The perpetrator has depression in most cases.We present 3 cases of filicide-suicide. In case 1, a divorced mother with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder shot her SON and herself. In case 2, a father shot his SON and himself while involved in a child-custody dispute. In case 3, a father, experiencing a divorce and financial difficulties, and his daughter with Angelman syndrome succumbed to carbon monoxide poiSONing.The forensic pathologist should be aware of the psychosocial dynamics that interplay in filicide-suicide. Diligent attention to a parent's life stressors may aid in determining risk factors for filicide-suicide. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |
| 37 | Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2015 Dec 59: 1550-63 |
| PMID | 25100768 |
| Title | Matricide by Mentally Disordered Sons: Gaining a Criminological Understanding Beyond Mental Illness--A Descriptive Study. |
| Abstract | Matricide is one of the rarest of reported murders and has always been considered one of the most abhorrent crimes. Psychiatric investigations as to why a SON might murder his mother yield indications of a high rate of mental illness, primarily psychotic disorders, in perpetrators. In an attempt to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of the mother-SON bond in the etiology of matricide by mentally disordered SONs, this article presents a qualitative study of nine cases of matricide examined at two Italian Forensic Psychiatry Departments between 2005 and 2010 and retrospective analysis of forensic psychiatry reports on the offenders. Most matricides suffered from psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia. Nevertheless, not all the perpetrators had psychotic symptoms at the time of the crime. A "pathologic" mother-SON bond was found in all cases. However, mental illness is not the only variable related to matricide and, taken alone, is not enough to explain the crime. Several factors in the history of the mother and SON need to be probed, especially how their relationship developed over the years. The peculiar dynamics of the mother-SON relationship and the unique perSONalities and life experiences of both subjects are the real key to cases of matricide. |
| SCZ Keywords | schizophrenia, schizophrenic, schizophrenics, schizotypal |