Schizophrenia Case Study Essay

I would recommend atypical antipsychotic drugs such as clozapine because they “appear to be more effective than conventional drugs” (Comer, 2015).

Schizophrenia is a serious debilitating mental illness in which the victim is afflicted with bizarre delusions and prominent hallucinations. The delusions are profoundly invalid beliefs, and the hallucinations are equally invalid perceptions. There is also a disordering of the reasoning process, disordered emotional expression, and loss of motivation for work and social living. Typically, the illness starts in adolescence or early adulthood and, if untreated, usually worsens with age. (Lickey, Gordon, 1991)

According to NAMI (), schizophrenia is a long term mental illness that interferes with a person’s ability to think clearly, make decisions, and relate to others, impairing a person from functioning to their full potential when left untreated. For these persons affected, it is many times difficult to distinguish what is real from what is not. “Unfortunately, no single simple course of treatment exists.” Research has linked schizophrenia to a multitude of possible causes” (NAMI).

As we have seen, treatment of schizophrenia with antipsychotic drugs can have impressive results in terms of decreasing active symptoms, although it does nothing to alleviate negative symptoms or to improve cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, this kind of treatment has the drawback of extremely serious and even fatal side-effects. Newer generation atypical antipsychotics offer more hope, as they can treat both active and negative symptoms, and also improve cognitive functioning. Moreover, they have fewer side-effects. However, treatment is complicated by the fact that results are unpredictable; and in addition the side-effects that they do have can be very serious, such as diabetes, which in itself is life-threatening. However, as the potential side-effects are known, the physician has leeway to choose a drug which is a good match for the patient’s clinical profile. Then, once the patient’s symptoms have been much alleviated with an appropriate newer generation atypical antipsychotic, the patient should be able to also benefit from a range of psychotherapeutic interventions. It is argued that this is the best treatment regime to choose, as it is likely to result in the greatest improvement in quality of life, coupled with the lowest risk of potentially devastating side-effects, or of death. This is likely to be better than utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy, the results of which are not reliably known – although research has certainly shown that it is less efficacious

The management of schizophrenia is complex and requires an “all-encompassing approach” which should be individualized to meet the needs of a particular patient (Schizophrenia Society of Canada, 2016, para. 5).

Within mental health and illness there is a vast amount of treatment options, medications and interventions to treat numerous psychotic disorders. A somewhat controversial treatment within the mental health field, known as long acting injectable antipsychotics (LAIAs), will be discussed in this argumentative paper. Evidence will be presented on how effective LAIA medication is, when compared to oral forms of antipsychotic medication, and the strengths and limitations of administering them. Perceptions of LAIAs from the view of nurses, health professionals and consumers, as well as the nurse’s role in administering and promoting recovery orientated care for people with a mental illness will also be covered. This essay will not provide a clear view, for or against LAIAs, but rather support both positives and negatives of the use of this medication within the mental health field.

Newer treatments for schizophrenia symptom management focus on both the DA and the 5-HT systems in an attempt to alleviate positive, negative and cognitive symptoms (Leucht et al., 2009; Leucht, Wahlbeck, Hamann, & Kissling, 2003). The 5-HT hypothesis of schizophrenia arose from toxicologic explanations of mental illness that were popular in the 1950s (Osmond, 1958). Toxicologic explanations received their inspiration from the observation that exogenous substances could produce effects that resemble certain signs and symptoms of mental illness, such as hallucinations (Osmond, 1958). The 5-HT hypothesis arose based on the observation that hallucinogenic-effects, such as those seen with LSD administration, are mediated by 5-HT agonism, and hence, schizophrenia symptoms likely arise from a similar mechanism (Baumeister & Hawkins, 2004). However, in the 1970s, the 5-HT hypothesis of schizophrenia was almost completely replaced by the DA hypothesis, only making a comeback later with the proven effectiveness of the atypical antipsychotics, such as clozapine (Baumeister & Hawkins, 2004).

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

It was not rare for individuals to have a relapse of their mental illness, this was normally due to inadequate taking of their prescriptions or stopping their medication entirely. Although these pharmaceuticals are effective on the positive symptoms of Schizophrenia they are not as efficient on the negative and can cause involuntary movement cognitive dulling as a

Approximately 22% of the American population suffers from some kind of mental disorder at any given time. (Passer and Smith, 2004) Schizophrenia is one of the most serious of these mental disorders, and there are many different kinds of treatment. While all mental disorders offer diagnosis and treatment challenges, few are more challenging than schizophrenia. It is both bizarre and puzzling, and has been described as “one of the most challenging disorders to treat effectively.” (Passer and Smith, 2004, 534)

The main reason for this relapse is non-adherence with medications. Appropriate treatment and follow ups are essential to reduce relapse episodes and improve cognitive abilities. Since schizophrenia is a chronic conditions which needs life-long treatment, the nursing practice should develop and follow a convenient form of treatment to support patient compliance. Therefore, the findings from the above mentioned study is significant in nursing practice. Starting long acting injectable antipsychotics after first episode of schizophrenia would help to stick with the treatment plans with improved symptoms because of sustained release of medication at a stable dose, and it is very convenient since patient has to take medicine only once in a month. Oral therapy needs daily reminders and frequent dose adjustments that may discourage patient to keep up with the treatment plan. An abrupt cessation of oral therapy worsens the symptoms which may end up in hospitalizations. Treating with long acting injectable antipsychotics in the early stage would prevent the bitter experience of relapse, and thus better adherence with treatment

Experts agree that Schizophrenia is a syndrome with signs and symptoms that are thought to co-occur in ways that distinguish it from other syndromes and from normal thoughts and behaviors. Schizophrenia can also be defined as a psychotic disorder with, impairments in reality, disturbances of perception and thought experienced as hallucinations, delusions, hearing voices, seeing things that are not there, and paranoia. Its onset usually starts in a person’s late teens to early twenties, and it affects about one percent of the global population. Its causes are unknown but experts are learning more and more about it every day. To contain

This study investigates the impact of long injectable antipsychotic on medication adherence and clinical, Functional and economic outcomes of schizophrenia. The debilitating chronic disease of schizophrenia involves lifelong medical treatment as well as periodic follow up on the treatment. The study suggests that 80% of patients relapse within the first 5 years and this is the period where patients experience majority of cognitive and psycho-social deterioration. Although medications are available to help alleviate the symptoms, majority of patients are non compliant especially when it comes to oral medication. Many studies have been done comparing the relapse, cost, functional outcome, and tolerability and hospitalization rate of

Study shows that people with schizophrenia recover fully, and lots of others people improve to the purpose wherever they’ll live severally, usually with the maintenance of treatment therapy. Fortunately, this accounts for the common cases. However, about 15 percent of individuals with schizophrenia respond only moderately to medication and need intensive support throughout their lives. While others 15 percent don’t reply to existing treatment. New therapies could supply hope for the treatment of those most seriously affected suffers.

Schizophrenia, unlike most disorders, is a standout amongst the most genuine of the mental disorders. It is known that one in a hundred individuals are affected by it, and starts in either youth or early adulthood. Schizophrenia brings social interruption, anguish and hardship to the individuals who experience the ill effects of it, as well as to their family. Under those circumstances, it is known to be the most devastating of all disorders. There are both negative and positive symptoms when it comes to dealing with schizophrenia. Despite the fact that there are various negative indications, the most present one is limitations or absence in thoughts and behaviours that are characteristics in normal functioning. For this