How common is schizophrenia and what are some of the symptoms?
Schizophrenia is mental disorder that occurs throughout the world. It is estimated that about 1% of the global population has schizophrenia. That would equate to about 60-70 million people. According to the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America about 3.2 million people in the United States are suspected to have the disorder. The unusual aspect of schizophrenia is there are no “hot spots” for the disease. This means that it is found pretty universally around the planet regardless of race or ethnicity. Basically, someone is equally as likely to develop the disorder in the United States as someone who lives in Asia.
Schizophrenia has two different sets of symptoms that are divided into positive (extra behavior) and negative (reduced behavior). The positive symptoms would be symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking or speech. So basically, these are symptoms that occur in the brain and the thought process. The negative symptoms would be things such as neglecting personal hygiene, not being able to make eye contact, and monotone speech. These symptoms can be seen by other people and are not constricted to the brain.
The breakdown of the Wnt pathway as a cause of schizophrenia
In the normal human brain the Wnt pathway allows β-catenin to be produced and bind to the transcription factors of TCF and LEF. These then allow transcription of Wnt genes that help in normal homeostatic processes. Β-catenin is allowed to bind because the destruction complex, which includes GSK3β is inhibited by DVL. Basically, GSK3β usually binds to β-catenin and marks it to be destroyed. However, when DVL is active it prevents GSK3β from marking β-catenin to be destroyed.
When the Wnt pathway is screwed up GSK3β is not deactivated, therefore β-catenin is destroyed and there are very low levels. This means that transcription of the Wnt genes are severely reduced, which is bad for the brain. Now there are many ways that this can occur, but it seems the most common is that excess amounts of dopamine are produced. These active the D2 (dopamine) receptors which prevents the AKT molecule from blocking GSK3β production. Thus leading to β-catenin suppression and schizophrenia.
The negative portrayal of schizophrenia and why that needs to change.
Now schizophrenia is a debilitating disease in the extreme forms and can cause people to become violent. However, those are just the most extreme cases. Most of the time people are able to manage the disease and can control themselves. The news and movies tend to portray the most extreme cases causing this to be the public perception. One example would be the movie American Psycho starring Christian Bale in which he goes on a killing spree as if that is the normal.
However, according the American Psychiatric Association, “Data indicates that severe mental illness alone does not predict future violence, but that violence is associated with substance abuse, lack of psychiatric treatment, and other factors.” From this it is clear to see that these violent episodes that are rare are not usually caused by the disorder itself, but rather some outside factor. It is time to raise awareness about mental disorders and change the stigma so people can get the help they need.
Stopping the Stigma of Schizophrenia
