|  | Mental Health | Schizophrenia

Cures for Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a group of complex, debilitating and chronic mental illnesses characterized by delusions, hallucinations and grossly disorganized thought patterns that, according to Schizophrenia.com, afflicts approximately 2 million Americans. Schizophrenia treatment has come a long way in terms of viable options. Once thought to be a consequence of "evil possession," today researchers have made great strides in developing scientifically-based treatments for this devastating brain disease.

  1. Drug Therapy

    • According to the Mayo Clinic, drug therapy is the "cornerstone" of treatment for people with schizophrenia. Your doctor will prescribe medication for you based on your specific symptoms, concerns and situation, and it may take several weeks for you to feel the positive effects. During the first few weeks or even months, your doctor will monitor your reaction, progress and side effects, and may adjust your dosage, change your medication or introduce additional medication. Typically, the first prescription your doctor will give you will be for an antipsychotic such as haloperidol, fluphenazine, risperidone or aripriprazole. He may also prescribe an antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication.

    Psychosocial Therapy

    • Schizophrenia.com suggests that psychosocial therapy, both individual and family, can be useful complements to drug therapy. Individual therapy focuses on developing your interpersonal skills and helping you to deal positively with stress triggers, thus reducing the chance of a relapse. Family therapy focuses on developing a support system for you; if your family and close friends have a clear understanding of schizophrenia, and of your particular issues and needs, your support system will be strengthened, reducing your chance of relapse and/or hospitalization.

    Glycine Therapy

    • Glycine, an amino acid that naturally occurs in all living things, has shown significant promise as a complementary therapy for people with schizophrenia, especially when used in combination with the drugs risperidone and olanzapine, according to studies published in Biological Psychiatry (2004, 2005) by Uriel Heresco-Levy and colleagues. The drug trials showed that the use of glycine produced a 24 percent reduction in negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia.

    Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT)

    • Although horror stories of ECT still tend to predominate in pop culture, it has in actuality evolved into a safe, legitimate complementary therapy, boasting a high rate of success in people suffering from severe depression. According to the Cochrane Review (2005), ECT, used in combination with antipsychotic medication, provided significant symptomatic relief to people with schizophrenia.

    Antioxidant Vitamins

    • Research is still ongoing, but according to Schizophrenia.com, studies have suggested that high doses of certain antioxidants, whether in food or supplement form, like alpha lipoic acid and vitamins C and E, have shown a reduction in the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, a slowing of disease progression and a reduction of episode recurrence. It is noted that supplements that have received the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and UPS (United States Pharmacopeia) stamps on their labels are the safest and most effective.

    Future Treatments

    • There are several treatments, still in the early stages of research, that show much promise in the treatment of schizophrenia including animal-assisted therapy, N-methylglycine, a gluten-free diet, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy, Chinese herbal medicine and music therapy. According to Schizophrenia.com, studies have shown that each of these therapies have yielded positive results.

Schizophrenia - Related Articles