Psychiatric Disorders, Diseases and Drugs: Schizophrenia, Depression and Mania

While scientists scramble to find the specific causes and suitable treatments for psychological disorders, some of the treatments are born by accident while investigating the causes of other diseases. Science has afforded sufferers of many psychological disorders, an effective program of drug therapy, despite the origin and development of the disorder being unclear.

Schizophrenia

Although schizophrenia has many common symptoms, diagnosis is often difficult because the symptoms can be diverse, suggesting the presence of one or more disorders. Common symptoms of schizophrenia are; delusions, hallucinations and odd behavior (Pinel, 2007, p.482). Odd behaviors are often seen as periods where there an individual does not move, or where they repeat words they have spoken or just heard in a conversation. This repetitious chatter is known as echolalia.

Schizophrenia can be a genetic predisposition, although studies have shown that identical twins do not always have the disorder, and both parents may be healthy and show no signs of the disorder. This finding would show that experiential factors must also contribute to the onset and development, although some may have the predisposition in the first instance, and it is activated at some point in time by an experience.

Drug therapy for schizophrenia has evolved over many years, with one of the first major breakthroughs happening in the 1950s. Chlorpromazine was found to calm agitated schizophrenia, and brighten to outlook of otherwise depressed sufferers. Reserpine was another drug which acted similarly, however it was withdrawn from use after it was found to lower blood pressure to dangerous levels.

In the 1960s, the dopamine theory was developed, suggesting the excessive levels of dopamine cause schizophrenic symptoms. The antischizophrenic drug, chlorpromazine was found to block the activity at the dopamine receptors, thus alleviating the symptoms of schizophrenia. Spiroperidol is another drug which is considered extremely potent, and is also found to bind to the D2 dopamine receptors.

Although D2 receptors appear to be a common denominator in schizophrenic episodes, it is now known that it is not the major cause, and underlying factors must also be contributing to the disorder. Some people who have suffered trauma during birth for example, may develop the disorder later in life, where both parents had the disease or not.

Depression and Mania

Depression can affect anyone at anytime; however, clinical depression is more severe than the usual bout of sadness. Depression is an affective disorder, and is found to linger in some people more than others, until it disrupts daily life and becomes overwhelming. Sometimes depression is a reaction to an unpleasant event, however, endogenous depression can be present for no apparent reason.

Mania also affects many people,causing polar opposite behavior to an individual who is depressed. Unfortunately, some people experience both extremes, and this disorder is known as bipolar disorder. There is a high suicide rate for sufferers, around 10%, so drug therapy is important in helping to ease the symptoms of the disorder (Pinel, 2007, p.489).

Antidepressants, lithium and inhibitors are known to help relieve the symptoms of affective disorders; Tricyclic antidepressants block the reuptake of both serotonin and nor epinephrine, thus increasing their levels in the brain (Pinel, 2007, p.490). Prozac is another drug used for depression, it is known as a selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), meaning that it stops serotonin from being received by receptors, which induces a more pleasant mood for the usually depressed patient. SSRIs are popular because they have few side effects.

The diathesis–stress model is one theory of depression, and suggests that, similar to schizophrenia, some people are genetically predisposed to depression, although there is another contributing factor which triggers its onset.

Continue to Part Two-

Psychological Disorders and Drug Treatment: Anxiety Disorder and Tourette's Syndrome

Reference

American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1994.

National Institute of Mental Health. (n.d.). What conditions can coexist with ADHD? Retrieved April 2009, from National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/what-conditions-can-coexist-with-adhd.shtml

Pinel, J. P. J. (2007). Basics of biopsychology. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.