Schizophrenia Radio
Show
Listen to this radio show on schizophrenia. Find out
what schizophrenia is, how it affects people's lives and treatment for
schizophrenia.
Last Friday, 41-year-old Russell Eugene Weston, Jr. pulled out a gun in the
Capitol Building and began shooting, killing two members of the Capitol Police
force and wounding a tourist before being shot himself. In the days that have
followed, a picture has emerged of Weston as a man plagued by
paranoid
schizophrenia, a condition that, left largely untreated, filled his mind
with suspicious fantasies. Weston is said to have believed that he was
President Clinton's clone, that the CIA had tried to assassinate him, and that
the government was spying on him through his neighbor's satellite dish.
While violent outbursts from schizophrenics may be rare, Weston is
certainly not alone with his condition. The National Institute of Mental Health
estimates that over two million Americans are affected by
schizophrenia in any
given year. It's a very complex condition, made up of so many different aspects
that it is sometimes difficult to diagnose -- and even more difficult to treat.
There is no known single cause of
schizophrenia. Recent research indicates that there may be a genetic
component, accounting for the fact that schizophrenia often tends to run in
families -- but no single gene has been identified as the source of the
condition. Scientists generally agree that a tendency towards schizophrenia can
be inherited, but that environmental factors also play a part.
Researchers are using various brain
imaging techniques to study the condition. PET (positron emission
tomography) studies have shown that in some cases, there is unusual brain
activity in people with schizophrenia. CAT (computerized axial tomography)
scans show that schizophrenic patients are more likely to have subtly abnormal
brain structures.
PET imaging showing areas of brain activity in
twins - one schizophrenic, one not. |
Neither of these techniques has found any marker that is present in all
schizophrenic people and not present in people without schizophrenia, however,
leaving much work to be done in the field.
MRI imaging showing differences in brain ventricle
size in twins - one schizophrenic, one not. |
There are a number of different
treatments for
schizophrenia and treatment combinations available for people with
schizophrenia, though none offers a complete cure.
Antipsychotic drugs
allow people with schizophrenia to function more appropriately, without
suffering from extreme delusions. Various forms of
psychotherapy may also be used to
help people acknowledge their condition and deal with it effectively. However,
the medications involved often carry unpleasant side effects.
Keeping people with
schizophrenia on medication voluntarily can sometimes be a difficult
process.
Join guest host Joanne Silberner on this hour of Science Friday for a
look at
schizophrenia- what it is, how it affects people's lives, and at the
delicate matter of treatment.
Listen to radio
show on schizophrenia using your real player.
Guests:
Laurie Flynn
Executive Director
National Alliance for the
Mentally Ill
Arlington, VA
Steve Potkin
Director, Psychiatric Research
Director, Brain Imaging Center
University of
California at Irvine Medical Center
Irvine, CA
Joseph Rogers
Executive Director
Mental Health Association of
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Paul Appelbaum
Professor and Chair,
Department of
Psychiatry
University of Massachusetts
Medical Center
Worcester, MA
Books/Articles Discussed:
Patterns of Usual Care for Schizophrenia: Initial Results from the
Schizophrenia Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT) Client Survey,
Schizophrenia Bulletin, National Institute of Mental Health, Vol. 24,
No. 1, 1998.
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