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Query: UMLS:C0036341 (schizophrenia)
 60,220 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The 22q11.2 deletion is the most prominent known genetic risk factor for schizophrenia, but its penetrance is at most approximately 50% suggesting that additional risk factors are required for disease progression. We examined a woman with schizophrenia with this deletion for such risk factors. She had high plasma pentosidine levels ('carbonyl stress') and a frameshift mutation in the responsible gene, GLO1. She also had a constant exotropia, so we examined the PHOX2B gene associated with both schizophrenia and strabismus, and detected a 5-alanine deletion. We propose that the combination of these genetic defects may have exceeded the threshold for the manifestation of schizophrenia.
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PMID:Schizophrenia with the 22q11.2 deletion and additional genetic defects: case history. 2188 Oct 99

A female patient in her sixties with schizophrenia had secretly disposed of all her medication and was not cooperating with hospital staff for about four months. During one of our consultations she mentioned that she wanted to be out of hospital by a certain date. That date happened to be her grandchild's birthday. It was at this point that she shared her goals with us, and voluntarily started having treatment. She was able to return home three months later, just in time to celebrate her grandchild's birthday with her family. A male patient in his sixties was able to leave the seclusion room after 10 years. The first doctor in charge and other hospital staff had firmly believed that releasing him from the seclusion room wasn't a possibility. However the patient decided he wanted to be discharged and was interested in finding out how to go about it. The moment he realized it was possible, his outlook changed immensely. He gradually started to open up and communicate better with his new doctor in charge, and was able to work towards his newly found goals. Staff members were also surprised when he was able to leave the seclusion room. They realized this patient was another person like them who had dreams and goals, and stopped stereotyping patients who seemed to be 'difficult to handle'. I have always experienced the power of goal sharing at clinical scenes, and have noticed its importance for patients making a start on the road to recovery. In order to discuss goals and the way to go about achieving them, I use a simple drawing of a mountain. I call this mountain 'A Personal Goal Map'. I like to think of myself (the doctor) as the mountain guide, and my patient as the mountain climber. The three key philosophies are acknowledging individuality, diversity and freedom. These are important when we think about where we are now, where we are going, and where we want to be. Firstly at the start point, we need to define the patient's problem and discuss ideas and goals, which help us along the Trust Path. The more patients and staff trust and understand each other the easier it is to climb up the Initial Treatment Path. We need to build up trustful relations so we can share personal goals and make a proper assessment and diagnosis, and talk about the safety, efficacy, cost and suitability of the initial treatment. Secondly, we need to take a rest and make more plans for the Recovery Path. It is on this path that we decide on comprehensive treatment together. We may be able to improve the patient's cognitive functions by using atypical anti-psychotic agents. We can then give them information, instructions and warnings about medicine usage so the patient is able to understand their condition. It is only after the patient can understand these things fully and act positively that we can start to climb the final path, the Achievement Path. We should review the suitability and efficacy of the treatment again, and it is at this stage that the mountain guide steps back and watches the mountain climber take the final steps towards the mountain peak goal. Lastly, the patient will feel elation and a sense of fulfillment and self-pride, and no doubt will be ready to look for the next mountain peak to climb. In order for you to enjoy the benefits at the clinical scene, all you need is a piece of paper, a pen, and a limitless imagination for better personal goal sharing. At Meisei hospital we promote the 'Minotake Team Approach', which calls for flexible management so we hospital staff can help each other as professionals. We treat patients as individuals using words and expressions they understand (such as local dialect and nonmedical terms), and give them access to easy to understand resources such as leaflets delivered by universities or pharmaceutical companies. We ask our staff to act naturally with the patients, and to just do what they can do to help the patients work towards their personal goals.
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PMID:[Power of personal goal sharing--treatment plan using personal goal maps for patients with mental disorders]. 2218 90

Social skills training programmes are among the treatments of choice in schizophrenia. Virtual reality (VR) can improve the results obtained with traditional social skills programmes by helping to generalize the acquired responses to patients' daily lives. We present the results of a case study involving the application of an integrated VR programme for social skills training. A 30-year-old woman with a well-established diagnosis of schizophrenia was enrolled in the study. She completed four baseline sessions, 16 treatment sessions and four follow-up sessions three months after the end of the treatment. Using a multiple baseline across-behaviours design, three target behaviours were analysed: facial emotion recognition, social anxiety and conversation time. Symptoms and social function variables were also assessed. The results showed a positive change in the three target behaviours and improvements in interpersonal communication, assertiveness and negative symptoms. The VR programme proved useful for training the patient's social behaviour and, consequently, for improving her performance.
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PMID:Improving social behaviour in schizophrenia patients using an integrated virtual reality programme: a case study. 2295 72

Background. Previous studies suggested dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in schizophrenia patients, but the mechanism remains unclear. Recently, the measurement of salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) has been considered a useful tool for evaluating ANS, especially the sympathoadrenal medullary system. Furthermore, there was a report that patients with schizophrenia showed much higher sAA level than normal controls. Methods. We present the case of a 51-year-old female with catatonic schizophrenia. She needed the treatment of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). We evaluated her sAA level and her psychiatric symptoms during the treatment. Results. Before ECT treatment, she showed high sAA level. Her sAA level decreased during the course of ECT, and this attenuation was accompanied by improvement of schizophrenic symptoms. Conclusion. We consider that measurement of the sAA level may be one of the useful biological markers for assessment of psychotic state and efficacy of treatment in patients with schizophrenia.
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PMID:May salivary alpha-amylase level be a useful tool for assessment of the severity of schizophrenia and evaluation of therapy? A case report. 2305 84

Introduction. Frontotemporal dementia is a disorder of complex etiology, with genetic components contributing to the disease. The aim of this report is to describe a young patient suffering from frontotemporal dementia, misdiagnosed as schizophrenia, related to a genetic defect on chromosome 1. Case Presentation. A 29-year-old female patient, previously diagnosed as having schizophrenia, was hospitalized with severe behavioural disturbances. She demonstrated severe sexual disinhibition, hyperphagia, lack of motivation, apathy, psychotic symptoms, suicidal thoughts, and cognitive deterioration. Focal atrophy of frontal and anterior temporal structures bilaterally was found on brain MRI, as well as bifrontal hypo perfusion of the brain on SPECT scan. The diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia was made clinically, according to Lund and Manchester groups and Neary diagnostic criteria. Chromosomal analysis was conducted and revealed decrease in length of heterochromatin on the long arm of chromosome 1 (46, XX, 1qh-). Parental karyotypes were normal. Discussion. Frontotemporal dementia, and particularly early-onset cases, can be often misdiagnosed as schizophrenia, with negative impact on case management. Genetic testing could be an aid to the correct diagnosis, which is crucial for optimal patient care.
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PMID:Frontotemporal dementia, manifested as schizophrenia, with decreased heterochromatin on chromosome 1. 2308 70

A 50-year-old, white female patient was diagnosed with schizophrenia in her teens. Her illness did not respond adequately to treatment until she was placed on a combination of fluoxetine and conventional antipsychotics. She discontinued the conventional antipsychotics on a number of occasions, which caused her to become psychotic, but not manic. On two separate occasions she was placed on atypical antipsychotics that were associated with the occurrence of manic symptoms. Once the patient was restarted on conventional antipsychotics, she remained stable.
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PMID:Repeated activation of mania by atypical antipsychotics in a patient. 2318 64

The prevalent sociocultural belief about the psychoses and schizophrenia is that intensive psychoanalytic therapy is ineffective if not destructive and contraindicated, and that the treatment of choice is a combination of psychopharmacology and educational techniques designed to provide symptom relief and rehabilitation. The literature contains few detailed reports of successful intensive psychotherapy that might contradict these beliefs. The psychoanalytic psychotherapy of a woman I shall call Sara, who met DSM criteria for chronic paranoid schizophrenia, is presented in detail. Its success in bringing about a fundamental personality transformation from a seriously self-destructive state in which she was unable to care for herself to one in which she became a mature creative person is confirmed by a follow up two decades after termination. The therapy transpired over an 11-year period and was conducted for the most part four times per week. It was supported by numerous hospitalizations in the early years as well as pharmacotherapy which she was able to relinquish prior to termination. During treatment Sara separated both physically and psychologically from an undifferentiated destructive relationship with her mother, internalized the capacity to think and represent emotions, and integrated disparate elements of personality to form a cohesive self. She developed psychosexually and formed a mature gender identity. She achieved the capacity for intimacy and motherhood, and had a successful career.
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PMID:The successful psychoanalytic therapy of a schizophrenic woman. 2321 97

Valproate (VPA) and lorazepam are excreted mainly by glucuronide conjugation. VPA reduces the excretion of lorazepam as a result of the administration of these two medications together. As a result of these interactions, even if rarely, serious adverse effects such as coma may develop. Herein, we present two cases of stupor which developed after the addition of lorazepam to treatment administered with VPA. The first patient was being followed for five years with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. She was subjected to a treatment of VPA at 1000 mg/day and an antipsychotic drug. On the twentieth day of the treatment, Lorazepam 2.5 mg was administered as an anxiolytic. The second patient was being followed with a diagnosis of schizophrenia for nine years. A VPA treatment of 750 mg/day was initiated together with an antipsychotic treatment. On the eighth day of the treatment, Lorazepam 2.5 mg was administered. A few hours later, a stupor manifestation developed in both of the patients. Administration of the entire medication to the patients was terminated and parenteral liquid administration was initiated. The clinical profile was back to normal approximately 24-36 hours following the termination of the medication. Studies about the clinical reflections of the VPA and Lorazepam interaction are limited. However, it must be remembered that as a result of the interaction of these two medications, conditions that vary between stupor and coma may arise.
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PMID:Stupor due to possible interaction between Lorazepam and valproic acid: report of two cases. 2322 29

This paper presents the case of a 67-year-old woman who visited the Psychiatry Department complaining of persecutory ideas and auditory hallucinations after a buccal cancer operation. On neuropsychological testing, she demonstrated paranoid psychosis and bizarre thoughts. Hospital admission was recommended for supportive care and treatment with antipsychotics. She was initially treated with olanzapine, but this medication had little effect and was replaced with amisulpride, which reduced the residual symptoms. The aim of this report was to discuss the diagnostic process and treatment of very late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis.
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PMID:A Case of Very-late-onset Schizophrenia-like Psychosis. 2343 Oct 69

Our case acts to highlight the numerous presentations of polyglandular autoimmune syndromes. A 62-year-old Taiwanese woman with a history of schizophrenia presented to our emergency department with a brain tumour causing her headaches. She was admitted due to severe anaemia, and after further investigation, the patient was discovered to have pernicious anaemia and autoimmune thyroiditis-consistent with the diagnosis of polyglandular autoimmune syndrome IIIb. Her underlying primary psychiatric diagnosis was then questioned. The diagnosis of her endocrinopathies were likely delayed for many years due to the psychiatric disorder which may have been due to her long-standing autoimmune hypothyroidism and/or vitamin B12 deficiency. Initial treatment brought about major behavioural improvement, and encourages physicians to investigate secondary causes of psychosis and other coexisting autoimmune diseases when a patient presents with one endocrinopathy.
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PMID:Polyglandular autoimmune syndrome disguised as mental illness. 2363 76


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