Schizophrenia is a chronic condition that impacts significantly not only on the individual and family, but the disorder also has wider consequences for society in terms of significant costs to the economy. This highly prevalent condition affects approximately 1% of the worldwide population, yet there are few therapeutic options. The predominant treatment strategy for schizophrenia is anti-psychotic medication (with or without additional talking therapy) even though this approach lacks efficacy in managing the negative symptoms of the condition, is not effective in one-third of the patient group and the side effects of the medication can be severe and debilitating. In recent years, a number of pathophysiological processes have been identified in groups of people with schizophrenia including oxidative stress, one-carbon metabolism and immune-mediated responses. A number of studies have shown that these altered physiological mechanisms can be ameliorated by nutritional interventions in some individuals with schizophrenia. This review briefly describes the aforementioned processes and outlines research that has investigated the utility of nutritional approaches as an adjunct to anti-psychotic medication including antioxidant and vitamin B supplementation, neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory nutrients and exclusion diets. Whilst none of these interventions provides a ‘one-size-fits-all’ therapeutic solution, we suggest that a personalised approach warrants research attention as there is growing agreement that schizophrenia is a spectrum disorder that develops from the interplay between environmental and genetic factors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-91) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Accessing treatment for a relative with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities requiring assessment or treatment from services can be extremely difficult for families and carers. Adverse past experiences can significantly affect the development of trust and relationships with present services and professionals. Listening and acknowledging families’ past and present concerns, alongside providing transparent information and reassurance about their relatives’ care, provides a foundation for starting positive relationships. Families are valuable in helping clinicians understand their patients fully and this helps the recovery process. Services have a duty to work collaboratively with patients’ families, in order to improve treatment outcomes including quality of life. Occasionally, there may be concerns in relation to the patient being the victim of familial financial, emotional, physical, and/or sexual abuse. In such instances, safeguarding processes must be followed.
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