INTRODUCTIONSchizophrenia is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by perturbations of language, perception, thinking, social activity, affect, and volition. There are no pathognomonic features. The syndrome commonly begins in late adolescence, has an insidious (and less commonly acute) onset, and, classically, a poor outcome, progressing from social withdrawal and perceptual distortions to a state of chronic delusions and hallucinations (Harrison et al., 2005). In this article we reviewed the factors that influence the outcome of schizophrenia in developing and developed countries.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGYEpidemiologic surveys identify several risk factors for schizophrenia including genetic susceptibility, early developmental insults, winter birth, and increasing parental age. Genetic factors are involved in at least a subset of individuals who develop schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is observed in near about 6.6% of all first-degree relatives of an affected proband. If both parents are affected, the risk for offspring is 40%. The concordance rate for monozygotic twins is 50%, compared to 10% for dizygotic twins. Schizophrenia-prone families are also at risk for other psychiatric disorders (Harrison et al., 2005).Schizophrenia is also associated with gestational and perinatal complications, including Rh factor incompatibility, fetal hypoxia, and prenatal exposure to influenza during the second trimester, and prenatal nutritional deficiency. Studies of monozygotic twins discordant for schizophrenia have reported neuroanatomic differences between affected and unaffected siblings, supporting a "twostrike" etiology involving both genetic susceptibility and an environmental insult. The latter might involve localized hypoxia during critical stages of brain development.
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENTPatients may present with positive symptoms (such as conceptual disorganization, delusions, or hallucinations) or negative symptoms (loss of function, anhedonia, decreased emotional expression, impaired concentration, and diminished social engagement) and must have at least two of these for
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International Current Pharmaceutical Journal
ABSTRACTAccording to WHO, schizophrenia is a severe form of mental illness affecting about 7 per thousand of the adult population, mostly in the age group 15-35 years. Though the incidence is low (3-10,000), the prevalence is high due to chronicity. Schizophrenia is occurring in both developing and developed countries. The remission rate is higher in developing countries compared to the developed ones. There are some compelling factors that may influence the outcome of schizophrenia includes gender, employment, marital status, family support, illness myths, family burden, duration of untreated psychosis etc. In this review we have discussed the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment and finally the factors that influence the outcome of schizophrenia in developing and developed countries.