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Running Head: CURRENT DRUG TREATMENT

Current Drug Treatment Modalities for Schizophrenia
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Introduction

Statistics indicate that there are about 24 million people in the world who are affected by
Schizophrenia disorder. Further studies on the condition show that Schizophrenia affects at least
1% of the population in all cultures with the majority of those affected falling in the age category
15-35 years (Patel et al. 2014). Schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder which requires lifelong
treatment, but early diagnosis and treatment may help get the condition under control. The
condition is characterized by a wide range of symptoms which are grouped according to the main
effect on the patient. Typically, symptoms are grouped into related cognitive problems,
behavioral or emotions (Couture, Penn, & Roberts, 2006). Besides this characterization,
symptoms may also be grouped into positive and negative symptom and cognitive difficulties.
Positive symptoms are psychotic behaviors ones would not expect to find from a healthy and
reasonable person. Common symptoms under this category include hallucinations a situation
characterized by hearing or seeing nonexistent voices and things respectively. Delusions where a
person develops false beliefs that are not based on the truth such as thinking of being harassed,
one has exceptional ability and fame, feeling one is love are some of the typical delusional
symptoms schizophrenia persons are likely to exhibit. Dysfunctional thought process that leads
to unintelligible speech is other typical physical symptoms of the condition (Patel, e al 2014). In
extreme cases, a person may develop movement difficulties.
On the other hand, typical negative symptoms include disruptions in normal behavioral
process. A person who has Schizophrenia may develop difficulty to express appropriate
emotions. Additionally, one is likely to create a reduced feeling of happiness, initiate and
complete activities as well as reduced ability to speak. The last category of symptoms, cognitive

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difficulties develop due to changes in the memory patterns of persons affected by the condition
(Couture, Penn, & Roberts, 2006).
Despite years of research, knowledge of time, course and progression of schizophrenia
remains sketchy and unreliable. Though no comprehensive drug treats the condition, research on
treatment of schizophrenia indicates that the disease can be managed, at least if it is discovered
early. Psychotic symptoms including hallucinations and delusions, for instance, could be brought
into control if a patient receives mediation early. For the majority of men with schizophrenia,
they usually develop the condition in their early to mid-20s (Patel, e al 2014). On the other hand,
women typically develop the condition in their late 20s. Studies on the progress of the course and
condition of the disease indicate that it is very rare for persons above the age of 45 to develop the
disease. In early stages or adolescents, possible symptoms of schizophrenia may include but not
limited to withdrawal from friends, drop in academic performance, difficulty in getting sleep,
depression and lack of motivation. Kids are less likely to show signs of delusions and
hallucinations which are more common in adult patients.
Biological Basis of Schizophrenia
Research on course and progress of schizophrenia indicate that possible predisposing
factors linked to the condition include genetic, environmental, and metabolic as well as
neurotransmitters system and structural complications on the brain. Studies on how genetic
predisposition contributes to the progress of the disease are still unclear. Despite research further
showing that 60 to 80 % of all cases of disorder are related to genetic predisposition, results
indicate that the chance of a child getting the condition in cases where both parents have genes
linked to the disease is only 40% instead of 100% in typical instances in which both parents have
the recessive gene (Patel, e al 2014).. In addition to this, the prevalence of the condition at 1% is

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relatively low making it difficult to use genetics to predict the condition. Therefore, the chance
of one catching the disease from genetic predisposition alone is quite minimal suggesting other
factors might have a critical role in the course and progress of the condition.
Developmental theories
Development theories indicate that brain development from the early stages of pregnancy
through early childhood is a very delicate and complicated process. At this stage of a persons'
life, millions of neurons develop to perform specific functions in the brain. The development and
placement of these neurons are crucial. Misplacement or lack of growth of nerve cells may
predispose an individual to schizophrenia condition at a later stage in life (Brisch et al., 2014).
This implies that a causal effect during the development of the brain combined with
environmental predisposing factors plays a significant role in the development of the condition.
There is a missing link on how disruption on the brain development process may cause an
infection in a person's life. To counter this, developmental theor...