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IntroductionWomen bear most of the burden in taking care of a chronically ill family member, thus exposing their own health and quality of life to risk. It is consider that mental health is the most vulnerable and most frequently affected health domain.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in women who have and have not a mentally ill adult for a family member.MethodMOS Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaire was used in this study. A total of 118 women were questioned, 54 out of which were taking care of a schizophrenic adult family member, whereas 64 had families with no mentally ill members. The two groups were matched according to age and education level.ResultsWomen with a mentally ill family member had lower scores in all quality of life domains, with the lowest scores in vitality (VT = 48,1), mental health (MH = 51,9), role emotional (RE = 53,1) and general health (GH = 53,5). Exactly the same health dimensions were estimated as the worst by women with no mentally ill family member (VT = 50,1; MH = 57,5; RE = 57,9; GH = 61). Statistically significant difference was observed only in the general health (p < 0.05).ConclusionWomen who are taking care of a chronically mentally ill family member are not so worried about the deterioration of their own mental health, as much as they are about their general state of health. Therefore it is necessary to put an accent on this subject as well, in creating future caregivers health programs.

Introduction: Finally recognized as a powerful co-therapeutic factor, family caregivers of persons suffering from schizophrenia play an important role in the treatment process. Objective: The aim of our study was to examine the family caregivers' perceptions of antipsychotic medications. Method: In this study, the European Federation of Associations of Families of people with mental illness self-completion questionnaire was used. Data were collected from 40 family members, the key caregivers of 40 schizophrenic patients. Results: Average age of a carer was 56, 97 (±11, 48) and 65% of them were females. Parents were dominant, caring for an ill son (37, 5%) or daughter (42, 5%). Family caregivers spent every day caring for the ill relative (100%); mean time of caring was 15, 2 years. Lack of education about condition and treatment side effects were seen as main reasons for drug discontinuation. Nearly half of caregivers (45%) stated forgetfulness as an important factor of treatment non-adherence. Every 6th family member had complains about complicated drug routine and too many medications prescribed. At the same time, they considered that keep taking the medication as recommended is very important for the remission achievement and that reaching remission is a long process which usually requires multiple changes of antipsychotic medications (4 changes on average). Conclusion: Family caregivers of schizophrenia sufferers share almost the same considerations about antipsychotic medications with professional caregivers. Further closer collaborations between formal and informal caregivers may help to go beyond some obstacles and to get a better treatment adherence.

Objectives: Since apoptosis is considered to play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia the aim of this study was to examine the Fas and Fas ligand (FasL) system in patients with schizophrenia. FasL is transmembrane protein that induces apoptosis by binding to its specific receptor Fas. The Fas-FasL complex is an important effector of cell death in different cell types. Methods: Serum Fas and FasL levels were determined in 30 patients with schizophrenia (11 females, 19 males), and 30 healthy controls (11 females, 19 males) by the ELISA method. Results: Serum Fas levels were significantly higher in patients with schizophrenia (4.63±0.96 ng/mL, p< 0.05) than in controls (4.12±0.81 ng/mL). A significant increase in FasL levels was also found in schizophrenic patients (0.099±0.029 ng/mL, p< 0.05) in comparison with those in healthy controls (0.085±0.023 ng/mL). Schizophrenic males showed significantly higher both Fas (4.97 ± 0.83 ng/mL, p< 0.05) and FasL (0.103 ± 0.032 ng/mL, p< 0.01) compared to the control males (4.30 ± 0.93 ng/mL; 0.079 ± 0.011 ng/mL, respectively). A significant positive correlation between patient serum FasL and lymphocyte caspase-3 activity was found. Conclusion: These results clearly show a disregulated extrinsic apoptotic pathway in patients with schizophrenia.

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