Case study for a Disease

1. SCHIZOPHRENIA CASE STUDY
PRESENTATION
KYLIE CRAIN
DR. FUAD KHAN
A&P 1

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE
SCHIZOPHRENIA
 Schizophrenia is a severe and chronic
medical condition that usually affects how
a person thinks, feels, and behaves.
 The disease is categorized as a mental
disorder that detaches patients from
reality.
 According to McCutcheon et al (2020),
Schizophrenia results from a combination
of delusions, extremely disordered
thinking and behaviors, and hallucination,
thereby impairing and disabling the
brain's normal function.
 Early treatment of this disease can be
beneficial in suppressing its symptoms
before serious complications emerge.

3. DESCRIPTION OF THE
SCHIZOPHRENIA CONT…
 Notably, early treatment of Schizophrenia, as
perceived by many health experts, requires
lifelong treatment.
 The complexity of Schizophrenia has relayed
misconceptions where many people perceive
that people with this condition are more
dangerous, which not the case is.
 According to American Psychiatric
Association, Schizophrenia usually affects
both men and women reasonably equally,
except for early onset in men (Gibson et
al.,2019).
 Individuals with this disease tend to experience
premature death due to extreme co-occurring
medical conditions like diabetes and
cardiovascular disorders.

4. CAUSES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA
 The exact cause of Schizophrenia is yet to be
established(Laursen et al.,2019)
 However, several factors that risk individuals can help assess
the possible cause of the disease ranging from;
 genetics
 chemical brain changes,
 structural brain changes,
 childhood traumas
 birth-related factors.

5. 1.1 GENETIC CAUSES
• Genes are the leading risk factor for Schizophrenia, as the disorder tends
to run in families
• This means that if you suspect that your parent, sibling, or close relative
was born with the disease, there is a high chance of developing it.
• However, a single gene cannot be responsible for the disorder.
• Studies directed at twins indicate that genes are a fundamental cause but
do not guarantee the disease's actual cause since genes only account for
1% of the cause (Saunders,2020).

6. 1.2 CHEMICAL BRAIN CHANGES CAUSE
• From a scientific viewpoint, neurotransmitters are supposed to
send signals between brain cells.
• Therefore when there are significant chemical changes
(Dopamine levels) in the brain, there are imbalances (McCutcheon
et al.,2019).
• Such imbalances can trigger the development of
Schizophrenia.

7. 1.3 STRUCTURAL BRAIN CHANGES
CAUSES
Findings suggest that minor structural changes within the
brain structure can trigger the development of psychiatric
disorders like Schizophrenia (Singh et al.,2019).
 However, there is no proof as people diagnosed without
mental health disorders may experience structural brain
changes.

8. 1.4 CHILDHOOD TRAUMAS
CAUSES
It is a common belief that childhood trauma may be a possible
cause of the development of Schizophrenia.
Children exposed to abuse or neglect tend to suffer from
hallucinations because of possible signs of the disease.
This means that adverse early experiences and trauma an
individual undergoes tend, even though not clear can cause a
condition related to Schizophrenia.

9. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
 Schizophrenia encompasses cognitive,
positive, and negative symptoms which
affect how people cope with life. They
include
Positive signs/symptoms
 Hallucinations
 Delusions
 Distorted Thinking
 Disturbed Body movement

10. SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
CONT…
Negative signs /Symptoms
 Disruption of normal behaviors and
emotions
 Reduced facial expressions and voice
tone
 Feeling withdrawal from activities they
once enjoyed
 Finding hard to begin or sustain
activities
 Flattening of emotions

11. SIGNS AND
SYMPTOMS CONT…
Cognitive signs/symptoms
 Low attention
 Low retention ability
 Reduced Focus
 Inability to process information
quickly

12. DIAGNOSIS OF
SCHIZOPHRENIA
 The diagnosis of Schizophrenia occurs
when a patient with this disorder is
diagnosed while isolating other mental
disorders. Its symptoms are then
determined, ruling out those from medical
conditions or substance abuse.
 It should be noted that a diagnosis of the
disease is not effective until more
pronounced symptoms persist and a clear
cause is established.
Overall, the diagnosis of Schizophrenia is
discussed below;
 Physical examination -To make a
diagnosis, doctors usually carry out
physical examinations to rule out other
problems that could be causing symptoms
and other complications.

13. DIAGNOSIS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA CONT…
• Once a successful physical examination has been conducted, a thorough review of
the patient's medical history, psychiatric, and family history is made.
Tests and screenings-this involve carrying out tests to rule out conditions with the
same symptoms as Schizophrenia and screen for other disorders. Imaging studies
can also be carried out, like CT and MRI scans.
Psychiatric Evaluation –Mental health professionals check the mental status of
people with Schizophrenia by precisely observing their appearance and demeanor
and other observable symptoms of the disease.
Diagnostic Criteria- Mental experts employ to establish criteria for the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria.

14. TREATMENT OF
SCHIZOPHRENIA
 Patients with Schizophrenia are treated by
combined therapy and medicine by
community mental health teams.
 The first stage schizophrenia patients are
referred to an early intervention team
(mental health nurses, psychologists,
psychiatric and social workers who
provide treatment and support
 People with complex mental health
conditions associated with the disease
enter care program approaches (CPA)
which have four stages;
 Assessment stage of patients' social and
health needs

15. TREATMENT OF SCHIZOPHRENIA CONT….
Care plan intended to meet the health and social needs of patients.
Key worker appointment to care for patients from the CMHT team
Reviews of treatment and care plan.
Antipsychotics rea the first treatment for patients with acute symptoms
of the disease.
 Common psychological treatment includes; cognitive behavioral
therapy (CBT), family therapy, and art therapy (Wang & Xiao,2021).

16. PROGNOSIS OF
SCHIZOPHRENIA
 There is no current cure for Schizophrenia,
but people with this disease tend to live
satisfactorily regardless of the symptoms.
 Symptoms for Schizophrenia tend to change
overtime from patient to patient, with women
being more likely to maintain an improvement
of symptoms than men
 Patients with Schizophrenia have a relatively
high mortality rate. Studies indicate that their
mortality rate is 1.6 times higher than those
without.

17. PROGNOSIS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA CONT…
Treatments help reduce schizophrenia symptoms, reducing the number/duration of
psychotic episodes.
Management of Schizophrenia combines both pharmaceutical treatment and
psychological counseling
Some factors associated with poor prognosis are early onset of illness, male, poor
diet, inadequate care, family history, underlying conditions, and mental
abnormalities.
Factors for good prognosis reveal better prognosis like acute onset, older age,
prompt treatment, female, quality care, few negative symptoms, and no family
history, among others.

18. REFERENCES
Gibson, L. L., Pollak, T. A., Blackman, G., Thornton, M., Moran, N., & David, A. S. (2019). The psychiatric
phenotype of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences, 31(1), 70-79.
Laursen, T. M., Plana-Ripoll, O., Andersen, P. K., McGrath, J. J., Toender, A., Nordentoft, M., ... & Erlangsen, A.
(2019). Cause-specific life years lost among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia: is it getting better or
worse?. Schizophrenia research, 206, 284-290.
McCutcheon, R. A., Abi-Dargham, A., & Howes, O. D. (2019). Schizophrenia, dopamine and the striatum: from
biology to symptoms. Trends in neurosciences, 42(3), 205-220.

19. REFERENCES
McCutcheon, R. A., Marques, T. R., & Howes, O. D. (2020). Schizophrenia—an overview. JAMA psychiatry, 77(2), 201-210.
Saunders, V. (2020). The Naked Emperor Syndrome Revisited: An Evaluation of Schizophrenia Gene Studies Research
Methods. Int J Psychiatr Res, 4(1), 1-7.
Singh, K., Jayaram, M., Kaare, M., Leidmaa, E., Jagomäe, T., Heinla, I., ... & Vasar, E. (2019). Neural cell adhesion molecule
Negr1 deficiency in mouse results in structural brain endophenotypes and behavioral deviations related to psychiatric
disorders. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1-15.
Wang, C., & Xiao, R. (2021). Music and art therapy combined with cognitive behavioral therapy to treat adolescent anorexia
patients. American Journal of Translational Research, 13(6), 6534.