Schizophrenia refers to a group of mental illnesses that are characterized by gross disruption of thinking, mood, and overall behavior. It is usually heralded by an acute episode that may manifest as a combination of a variety of symptoms that include social withdrawal, impaired concentration, loose thought associations, intense panic, anger, depression, elation, hyperactivity, hallucination, and delusion.
Of those who develop an acute schizophrenic episode, about a fourth will completely recover from the condition; most will have long periods of remission (during which time the person functions normally) that alternate with occasional schizophrenic episodes; but about 10-15 percent will experience severe long-term incapacitation.
In answer to your third question — there are several types of schizophrenic disorders that can be distinguished from each other on the basis of their more prominent manifestations. Thus, if the illness is characterized by persecutory or grandiose delusions, it is termed paranoid schizophrenia; if it is severe psychomotor disturbance of either excitement or rigidity, it is referred to as catatonic schizophrenia, etc.
As to its cause, the current prevailing belief among experts is that schizophrenia has a multi-factorial cause. It is the result of the interaction of genetic, environmental and neurotransmitter factors.
Schizophrenia, doubtless, has a genetic component. It tends to run in families. In identical twins that are raised separately, if one twin develops schizophrenia, the other twin also develops the disease in 50 percent of instances. But the mere fact that only 50 percent of the "other twins" develop the disease already proves that environmental factors, not just genetic ones, also play a role in the causation of the disease.
Neurotransmitters — the chemical messengers that nerve cells utilize to communicate with each other — are probably also involved in the development of schizophrenia because schizophrenic episodes are invariably associated with either a disturbance in the existing level of a specific neurotransmitter such as dopamine and serotonin or a change in the sensitivity of the receptors on nerve cells that receive the neurotransmitter.
Other probable minor contributors to the development of schizophrenia are birth complications, abnormal brain development, some viral infections (e.g., polio) and head injury. Likewise, psychological stress, in all probability, can trigger the development of the disease.
It is a common belief among Filipinos that use or abuse of prohibited drugs causes mental illness. This is essentially true. Existing scientific data suggest that drugs can damage neuroreceptor transmitter sites and the resulting chemical imbalance can lead to manifestations that mimic many psychiatric disorders.
Also, there is indisputable evidence that drug abuse results in cerebral atrophy (loss of brain tissue) which can aggravate or mimic mental illness. However, the consensus of experts is that drugs do not directly cause schizophrenia although certain drugs (such as cannabis, LSD or amphetamines) may cause a disturbance in the brain that can trigger an initial schizophrenic episode.
Antipsychotic medications (zyprexa, whose generic name is olanzapine, is one such drug) are the treatment of choice for the various types of schizophrenia. Aside from pharmacologic therapy, the only other major treatment modality used for schizophrenia is psychotherapy ("talking therapy"), although it is used only to complement and not to replace pharmacologic treatment.
Is there hope for total cure? Antipsychotic medications are often able to control the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia, but they do not offer cure. Nevertheless, as I have already mentioned, about a quarter of people with schizophrenia eventually completely recover from the disease. Let us just hope your brother is one of them.
