AN “INVISIBLE” DISEASE

Catherine SuttonBIOC 660

Consider… • A 17 year old patient has become withdrawn from friends and family over the past few years. The patient has never really done well in school and often seems distracted and is easily startled. Recently, the patient broke down and appeared to be arguing with herself, or maybe someone else. Someone who was not there.

Question 1:What could the patient be experiencing?

Question 2:What would be your diagnosis based on

the patient’s behavior?

Case Study • Make sure the patient seeks counseling

• An MRI scan – Rule out brain tumor effects

– Abnormalities in brain structure have been observed in sufferers of schizophrenia

• Do a genetic study via a blood sample– 273 of the 365 biomarkers for schizophrenia

are found in blood serum

Two Main Targeted Receptors

Dopamine Receptors• Main Target: Dopamine Receptor

Two (D2R)

Glutamate Receptors• Main Target: N-methyl D-Aspartate

Receptor (NMDARs)

• There is no known cure for schizophrenia, only treatments for the symptoms (although this seems up for debate)

• A full understanding of how or why this disease occurs is unknown, however there are some theories:• overactive dopamine binding• low glutamate related to overactive dopamine binding

Chlorpromazine: The first effective

neuroleptic drug

• Discovered in 1950, was the first antipsychotic drug

• Antagonist to dopamine• Reduces positive

psychotic symptoms– ex: hallucinations

and delusions

Glutamate Receptor Drugs: Hope for

negative psychotic symptom treatment• Activated through glutamate

and glycine bind to the receptor protein, allowing ion flow

• No drugs currently on the market, but research is being done to change this

• Glutamate imbalance may cause abnormal dopamine function– low glutamate levels are

observed, overactive dopamine (schizophrenic symptoms) is also observed

Summary of

Treatments • Verbal Therapy• Drug Therapy

– Typical Antipsychotics: chlorpromazine, haloperidol, trifluoperizine, perphenazine, and more

– Atypical Antipsychotics: clozapine, risperidone, iloperidone, lurasidone and more

References • https://hanbleceya.com/schizophrenia-america-infographic/

• http://infographicgalleries.blogspot.com/2013/07/schizophrenia-stats-nfographic_30.html

• http://www.mdedge.com/currentpsychiatry/article/65004/schizophrenia-other-psychotic-disorders/lab-tests-psychiatric

• http://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/schizophrenia

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine_receptor_D2

• http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/202/2/91• Glutamatergic Antipsychotic Drugs: A

New Dawn in the Treatment of Schizophrenia? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3736896/