Wnt and GSK3 Signaling Pathways Role in Schizophrenia
The etiology of schizophrenia is still unknown, but researchers today know more about this disease than in the past. Patients with schizophrenia have increased levels of dopamine in their brain; dopamine leads to higher levels of GSK and β-catenin. These high levels of dopamine inhibit the Wnt signaling pathway. The Wnt pathway causes the transcription of TCF/LEF genes. Patients with schizophrenia have less TCF/LEF gene expression because the increased level of dopamine inhibits the Wnt pathway.
Medications used for the treatment of schizophrenia target molecules such as Akt, GSK, and β-catenin to regulate the dopamine and Wnt signaling pathways. Antipsychotics activate Akt which leads to a decrease in GSK. Akt phosphorylates GSK leaving it inhibited; The Wnt pathway functions in the presence of low levels of GSK. Lithium is another medication used in schizophrenia therapies and has three main functions: inhibiting GSK, destabilizing the destruction complex, and competing with Mg+. Prescriptions today need great improvement to better treat patients with schizophrenia.
Psychotherapy as a Form of Treatment for Schizophrenia
Medications do not improve the symptoms many patients experiences. Patients are often noncompliant with regularly taking their medication for a variety of reasons such as the side effects they experience, delusional thoughts, and a lack of trust in medical staffhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741082/.
Psychotherapy can be beneficial when treating schizophrenia because it can help the patient understand their own behaviors and emotions. Many patients with schizophrenia have had traumatic events in their life that they have never emotionally processed. Psychotherapy has been shown to increase mindfulness, interpersonal attachment, personal narrative, and metacognitive skills in patients with schizophrenia https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741082/.
Five approaches to psychotherapy have been identified that are useful in the treatment of schizophrenia. These approaches have the best outcome for patients when they are integrated together based on personal needs.
The first model helps the patient to understand their response to psychosis, underlying cognitive processes, and understand their roots of adjustment https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741082/. The next model of psychotherapy seeks to validate patient experiences and propose alternative ways of thinking. The third integrative approach emphasizes the importance of interpersonal relationships, especially ones with a licensed therapeutic figure https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741082/. A fourth model of psychotherapy targets patient awareness of poor insight. Patients will attend group training sessions and learn to assess their self-stigma, restructure thought processes, and enhance their personal narrative. The final category for integration suggests that the therapist and patient relationship must emphasize the here-and-now and trust that is being developed https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3741082/.
Figure 1 is an artstract I made that represents the healing process for someone with schizophrenia. There are still many questions about this illness that need answers. Patients need personalized therapeutic treatments and achieving this often takes a great deal of time, trial-and-error, and cooperation. Someone suffering from schizophrenia has to undergo a variety of medications and treatments that can leave them feeling worse than before. The hallucinations and delusions one can experience with schizophrenia can feel more normal to them than how they feel after taking a prescription.
Figure 1: This figure depicts just a few of the symptoms a patient suffering from schizophrenia can experience. It can feel overwhelming to live with a mind that is creating its own personal hell. A licensed therapeutic professional can help patients with schizophrenia learn techniques to deal with their symptoms and hopefully live a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life.
