Schizophrenia: Causes and Symptoms
Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder that affects a person's thoughts, emotions, and overall actions. The signs range from hallucinations, diminished voice, to difficulty concentrating. The disorder is induced by both genetic and environmental causes and, at times, the association between the two.
Genetic Causes of Schizophrenia
In certain cases, the genetic nature of the disorder is primarily attributed to the fact that it is inherited, which means that it can be transferred from parents to offspring. When the individual suffers from the disease without any symptoms from the members of the family, environmental causes are typically inferred. This can be due to magnetron before birth where the unborn baby is poorly nourished due to deficiencies in the mother’s diet, problematic birth procedures that can damage the baby’s head and consequently affect brain development, and various psychosocial factors which include stress, hopelessness, and depression.
Strategies for Prevention and Treatment
There are several strategies that clinicians employ to curb this condition and preventing it from happening in the first place, these are; avoiding isolation, developing friendships, properly nourishing the mother during pregnancy, and performing gene therapy on babies that are born of families with a known history of the condition. Avoiding isolation and developing friendships is key as it helps in preventing or mitigating the negative influences such as stress and hopelessness on the individual. Proper nourishment before and during pregnancy ensures that the mother can provide the necessary nutrients for the child as well, thus preventing malnutrition-related complications. Genetic engineering and gene therapy are relatively new but can help in offsetting the potentially harmful effects of a rogue gene. Every one of these aspects is crucial in the offsetting of both the genetic and environmental causes of schizophrenia (Nimh.nih.gov).
Works Cited
Nimh.nih.gov. Schizophrenia. 05 February 2016. Web. 5 May 2017.