03 Nov 2020, 1:53 pm
I finished reading Hidden Valley Road(released April 2020) about 8 weeks ago, particularly interested due to having a younger brother who is on the spectrum and who was diagnosed schizophrenic.
The latest, most promising research involves prenatal supplements, particularly choline as being successful in preventing schizophrenia in those with a higher than average risk of developing it. “ It’s understood that this is a developmental disorder. It’s not like something happens to you in adolescence and you become mentally ill. It’s something you’re vulnerable to developing from the time you’re in utero. There’s something genetic that sets you up to be vulnerable, but at the same time there’s something in the environment that triggers it. That’s led to theories about everything from pot use to cat litter: Everyone’s looking for the trigger.”
A family with six schizophrenic children, their lives, major contributions to schizophrenia research ...
This is a riveting and intimate portrait of the Galvins, Don and Mimi, and their twelve children, all born between 1945 and 1965.. Six of those children were eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. This was an incredible rarity and so, not surprisingly, the children’s genetic material and family histories became the focus of research. Thanks to the Galvins, researchers now have a wellspring of valuable information to help them discover ways of treating and predicting schizophrenia. The Galvins genetic makeup added a unique contribution to schizophrenia research.. The author goes back and forth from family history to mental health research and connects all the dots.
Thought I’d share news of this book for anyone with an interest in mental health or anyone looking to understand schizophrenia.
Related Articles:
https://slate.com/culture/2020/04/hidden-valley-road-robert-kolker-interview-schizophrenia.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-8320935/Was-disturbed-family-America.html
Latest Schizophrenia Research:
https://www.nature.com/subjects/schizophrenia
WHAT IS SCHIZOPHRENIA?
Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves.
People with schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality.
The cause of schizophrenia is not understood and it is believed to be a mix of genetics (hereditary), abnormalities in brain chemistry and/or possible viral infections and immune disorders.
Symptoms of schizophrenia usually begin between ages 16 and 30. In rare cases, children have schizophrenia too.
The symptoms of schizophrenia fall into three categories: positive, negative, and cognitive.
Positive symptoms are disturbances that are 'added' to the person's personality and include:
Hallucinations
Delusions
Thought disorders (unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking)
Negative symptoms are capabilities that are 'lost' from the person's personality and include:
'Flat affect' (reduced expression of emotions via facial expression or voice tone)
Reduced feelings of pleasure in everyday life
Difficultly beginning and sustaining activities
Cognitive symptoms are changes in their memory or other aspects of include:
Trouble focusing or paying attention
Problems with 'working memory'
Poor ability to understand information and use it to make decisions
Figures suggest around one percent of the world population suffers from schizophrenia with around two million in the US.
Source: National Institute of Mental Health
