Essay on Schizophrenia

risperidone whereas in this one there was a fixed dose to limit breach in blinding and to facilitate comparison between similar groups, also having this fixed dosage helped prevent bias because when using a titrating schedule of dosing in a randomized trial, it tends to show bias toward a desired goal. Risperidone in this study was well tolerated and there weren’t significant differences in weight gain or sedation(13). One of the main things disliked about risperidone is its tendency to increase the incidence of dyskinesia and other extrapyramidal side effects. In this study only mild and transient dyskinesias were seen in only 3 children, however that could be due to the low fixed dosage(13) of the study.

By taking the time and educating ourselves, we are eliminating possible misconceptions about the illness. Working with people that have a mental disorder is the best way to understand how and why they act the way they do. While the cause of schizophrenia is still unknown, it is believed that both genetics and environmental factors play a role. Schizophrenia consists of five subtypes; paranoid, disorganized, catatonic, undifferentiated, and residual. Symptoms can range from hallucinations to delusions, and disorganized thinking. Since there is no cure for schizophrenia, treatment is aimed at controlling the positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms. By starting with a single antipsychotic medication and evaluating the efficacy in four to six weeks, they are able to determine if that medication will work or if they need to try a different one. Once they find out what works, they must adhere to it. Through improved public awareness society can break the pervasive stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illnesses that stand in the way of finding cures and help people with schizophrenia lead full lives they

Insanity, then, is inordinate or irregular, or impaired action of the mind, of the instincts, sentiments, intellectual, or perceptive powers, depending upon and produced by an organic change in the brain.

Risperdal (Risperidone) has been used for a number of different mental health disorders. It has been used for Schizophrenia, Bipolar I disorder, and to help with irritability in children with Autism. There are a number of different things that will be covered in this paper such as the chemical makeup of the medication, the appearance, side effects, off label use, side effects, administration, and how it works, with other additional information.

Antipsychotics are medications that physicians use to treat psychotic disorders such as Schizophrenia, Delusional disorder, Paraphrenia, and Substance-induced psychotic disorders. These disorders are characterised by the patient’s inability to make good judgments, think with a clear head, communicate effectively, relate to society, and understand reality. Antipsychotic drugs are also useful in the treatment of bipolar conditions that involve extreme cases of manic behaviour. Examples of these drugs include Thorazine and Trilafon. These drugs belong to a drug class called phenothiazines. They work by changing the actions of chemicals in the brain. The drugs can be beneficial, however, Steen et al. (2014) argue that the medicines have several harmful effects such as changes

Schizophrenia is classified as hysteria in our camaraderie. If you are diagnosed with schizophrenia, the world and our society now-a-days will deem you unfit and delusional. Schizophrenia is a disease that impinges approximately 1.1% of the population. I am going to be scrutinizing the effects of schizophrenia on the brain and personality. Schizophrenia is a diagnosed mental illness which is known for hallucinations (auditory, visual, tactile, sensory, etc.), and most people believe that if you are schizophrenic you are just psychopathic, and not credible. What I hope to discover is what schizophrenia actually does to the brain and personality, and if that assumption of a psychotic mentality is accurate.

In regards to the positive symptoms, these include delusions of grandeur, which is when a person believes they have a special ability or feel as if they are better than everyone else. Delusions are the most commonly experienced symptom. Hallucinations are the second most experienced symptom under positive symptoms (Andreasen P.381). Hallucinations are best described as “The experience of sensory events without any input from the surrounding environment” (Barlow P.473). Hallucinations include people hearing voices telling them things or hearing sounds that only occur to them.

It has come to my attention going over teacher files that one of my elementary teachers has a prescription for Risperdal, which is an anti-psychotic medication to treat schizophrenia. It is my job to decide what to do, and if she is a risk to the children if she stops taking her medications. There are a number of factors to consider before making a decision, as well as ethical issues to evaluate concerning this situation. In order to be morally sound in my decision I need to decide what the right action to take is. So first off, I need to get the facts on this medication.

Risperidone is atypical antipsychotics drug used in the treatment of mental and mood disorders. It is helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances in the brain. This medication may also be used in combination with other medication to treat depression.

Antipsychotics are generally used to treat psychosis in mental disorders. These disorders include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Thyssen et al., 2010). Risperidone is known as an atypical second generation antipsychotic and used in the treatment of a multitude of disorders. This medication can often challenge behavioral problems that are associated with schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Schatzberg & Nemeroff, 2013). It is important for the prescriber to be aware of the side effect and any possible adverse reactions that may occur. There can be many detrimental side effects that someone may not enjoy,

Schizophrenia is the most commonly diagnosed psychotic disorder (Steel, 2012), affecting 1 out of every 100 hundred people on average (Taurier & Wykes, 2004). Symptoms of the disorder include positive symptoms, which are auditory and visual hallucinations, as well as disordered patterns of thought such as delusions (Taurier & Wykes, 2004). Auditory hallucinations are the most common positive symptom, and often come in the form of voices (Steel, 2012). Delusions, which are the most common symptom of schizophrenia, involve a false belief that exists despite evidence being available that suggests otherwise (Steel, 2012).

Treatment will often include antipsychotics for the illness itself, anticholinergic drugs to help treat extrapyramidal symptoms (movement disorders), that are caused by antipsychotics, and in some cases cognitive remediation. Cognitive remediation techniques are time and labor intensive, because cognitive deficits are multiple and vary from person to person. Such techniques seem to work best when specifically tailored to each patient. ("Schizophrenia Treatment & Management: Approach Considerations, Antipsychotic Pharmacotherapy, Other Pharmacotherapy," 2018). When combined with drug therapies, cognitive remediation is successful. Drugs included in therapy are Risperidone, Clozapine, and Olanzapine, which produce their effects with reduced incidence of extrapyramidal symptoms. Clozapine has the adverse effect of dangerously depressing bone marrow function and the patient must have their blood count checked on a biweekly basis, if white blood cells drop too low, it is discontinued. (Timby & Smith, 2014) Other antipsychotics include Haloperidol, Fluphenazine, Risperidone, and Olanazapine, all of which block dopamine receptors. Common anticholinergic drugs are trihexyphenidyl and benztropine. These drugs should all be taken as prescribed and should never be stopped abruptly due to withdrawal symptoms or more severe adverse

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.

Treatment of schizophrenia may vary according to what clinicians believe to be its causes. For example, some believe (and this is backed by evidence) that the condition is caused by over activity of the dopamine system, so that the person experiences too much stimulation. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, so that in effect too much activity is occurring in the brain. Clinicians who believe this is the case are likely to use drug therapies to correct this over activity, and will use antipsychotic drugs.

1. Brodaty, H., Ames, D., Snowdon, J., Woodward, M., Kirwan, J., Clarnette, R., & ... Greenspan, D. (2005). Risperidone for psychosis of Alzheimer's disease and mixed dementia: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(12), 1153-1157.