Ethical Issues in Schizophrenia Patients

Autonomy. Hai’s mental state is altered with the manifestations of delusions and hallucinations making him incapable of deciding for himself. His ability to practice his autonomy and refusal of medical treatment is deemed invalid due to his mental illness.

Throughout the many years, there have been many negative public perceptions of Schizophrenia, which is known by majority of the public as an indication of mental illness. This disorder is most of the time perceived by the public as caused by psychological factors. People with this mental illness are considered to be unpredictable and threatening (Angermeyer & Matschinger, 2003, p. 526). Most patients have a behavioural dysfunction. Victims, families and society carry a substantial burden due to this illness (Wood & Freedman, 2003).

Some people have questioned whether the widespread use of chemical drugs is ethical. The argument is that the drugs and ECT are dehumanising and take away any sense of personal responsibility or control, as there are significant side effect related to drugs and risks associated with ECT, such as brain damage and even death. People in psychotic

Today, scientists at the University of Iowa are studying abroad how people suffering from the mental disorder, schizophrenia, may have less brain tissue than those who do not have the disorder. Schizophrenia deeply affects the brain and causes individuals to lose touch with reality and have unorganized thoughts, troubled perceptions and unsuitable emotions and actions. “Schizo” means split and “phrenia” means mind, however this does not mean that this is a split mind or personality disorder, like most people commonly mistake this as. In order to understand this disorder, we need to take a look at the actual condition and how it is defined, apart from other disorders, speculated causes, such as genes from

The term ‘schizophrenia' covers a group of serious psychotic disorders characterised by a loss of contact with reality. It comes from two Greek words: schiz meaning ‘split' and phren meaning ‘mind'. DSM IV (1994) estimate that the occurrence rate of schizophrenia ranges from 0.2%-2.0% worldwide. There are two main explanations of schizophrenia: the biological explanations and the psychological explanations. In this essay I will critically consider the biological explanations. These include genetics, neurochemistry, brain structure and evolution.

There are many reasons for this medical dilemma, not the least of these, the disease process itself. Even in the most severe episode the schizophrenic patient doesn’t truly understand their need for treatment or their illness because 97% of schizophrenia patients suffer from extreme lack of insight. This symptom, in and of

Schizophrenia is a psychological disease with an unknown treatment. Its onset starts in early adult hood on average. There are many studies showing links to genetics and environmental causes. In this paper I will discuss many of the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia along with how it is diagnosed, imaged with MRI, and the difficulty in treating this disease. More treatments for schizophrenia may be revealed with the further advancement of imaging technology. Schizophrenia is a disease that affects the most complex structure in the human body, the human brain. The more research that is continued on the smaller segments of the different areas of the brain with imaging modalities the closer we get to

The topic of ethics for the care of the mentally ill has become widely debated in the UK. Recent statistics show a 5% increase 2013-14 vs. 2012-13 in the detentions under the Mental Health Act, a 30% increase from 2002-2003 (October 2014, Health and Social Care Information Centre, http://www.hscic.gov.uk/5164). The increase places tremendous pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) to balance the best possible care, with resource. There are a number complexities that arise to strike the balance in risk and rights, when faced with challenging behaviour of the mentally ill.

Changes in key brain functions, such as awareness, emotion, and behavior lead experts to conclude that the brain is the biological site of schizophrenia. Some important risk factors to consider are genetics, viral infections, fetal malnutrition, and stress during early life, childhood abuse or trauma, and drugs.

In the course of recent decades, the verbal confrontation over the moral issues engaged with schizophrenia inquire about has advanced impressively in a few, yet not all, regards. When all is said in done, exchanges about the most imperative of these issues have been impelled by improvements both in our comprehension of schizophrenia and inside the field of psychiatry itself, and also couple with the advancement of principles for the insurance of human research members. As many as one-half of acutely hospitalized patients with schizophrenia may have substantially impaired decision-making abilities, including difficulties in understanding, appreciation, and reasoning (Shamoo, 1997). Although new logical advancements, especially those having happened in the course of the most recent decade, have expected scientists to think about

Schizophrenia stands to be inherently rare, however, the illness is, “among the worlds top ten causes of long-term disability” (Meuser, 2015). The onset of the disorder takes place over a period of approximately five years and during this time, symptoms begin to appear. Schizophrenia has negative, positive, and cognitive symptoms all of which stem from a breakdown in relation between thought, emotion and behavior (Meyer). These symptoms include but are not limited to withdrawal, hallucinations and delusions; without proper treatment a person could potentially become a danger or threat to themselves and those around them, “Because of the disruptive effects of relapses on patients lives, and the

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe neurological brain disorder characterized by disruptions in perception and reality and disturbances in emotions and language. This disorder is extensively studied by researchers, however the specific mechanisms and factors behind its development are still not completely understood. Most cases of schizophrenia arise in men between the ages 16-30, though the disorder is not confined to this group. Additionally, studies have identified over 100 genes associated with schizophrenia, making the causes of the disorder difficult to elucidate.What is better understood about the disorder is that there are changes in brain structure and communication.

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric disorder that is characterized by a variety of symptoms and the disorganization of feeling and thought. It is an incurable disease whose causes are unknown, yet whose effects are mind and body crippling. (Young, 1988, p.13-14) This topic was chosen because it is interesting to study a disorder that worldwide, is viewed as a classic example of madness and insanity. Another reason of interest is because unlike many illnesses, schizophrenia doesn't have a noticeable pattern and its difficulty to be diagnosed as a disease makes the collection of statistics difficult. It is important to learn more about schizophrenia because a significant numbr of people are affected everyday

One of the most important findings in schizophrenia is an abnormal hippocampal structure (Weiss et al., 2005). Evidence from post-mortem examination and patient’s brain imaging have shown the decreased volume and the presence of an abnormality in the shape of the hippocampus (Bogerts et al., 1990; Nelson et al., 1998; Wright et al., 2000; Shenton et al., 2002). These neuroimaging findings have also been observed in individuals in the first episode or prodromal phase of schizophrenia (Shenton & Gerig et al., 2002). Structural imaging studies have suggested that reduced hippocampal volume is extended through the frontal to posterior regions, and it is not restricted to a particular region of the hippocampus (Weiss & DeWitt et al., 2005). Studies have shown differences in morphology (size, organization, shape) of hippocampal neurons (Benes et al., 1991; Arnold et al., 1995; Zaidel et al., 1997; Shenton & Gerig et al., 2002).

The meaning of schizophrenia is a severe disorder in which the person suffers from disordered thinking, bizarre behavior, hallucinations, and inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Researchers consider schizophrenia a brain disorder due to the evidence present in MRI scans of the brain. In comparison to healthy controlled participants, participants with schizophrenia showed structural differences in two particular areas of the brain. The Cingulum bundle that lies under the cingulate gyrus and links part of the limbic system, and another that links the frontal lobe to temporal lobe, were found to have significantly less myelin coating on axons of the neurons within the bundle.