About Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric disorder that adversely affects patients' functioning and quality of life.  Symptoms of schizophrenia include positive and negative symptoms, dysfunctional memory and poor attention.  The reduction of schizophrenia symptoms is a key goal of therapy and several schizophrenia treatment options are available.

Schizophrenia disease overview

Schizophrenia is a serious mental health concern that reduces patients’ social and occupational functioning and quality of life.  Patients with schizophrenia experience a progressive decline in functioning and in their relationship with the outside world.  Approximately 26.3 million people Worldwide have schizophrenia[1] and the condition is associated with significant levels of morbidity and mortality.  In fact, schizophrenia accounts for 2% of all non-communicable disease disability-adjusted life years Worldwide in 2005.[2]  The financial burden of schizophrenia is high, comprising costs due to hospital beds, other healthcare costs and loss of work productivity.[3]

Schizophrenia is typically a chronic condition and patients experience episodes of acute exacerbation followed by periods of full or partial remission.  Characteristic symptoms include positive symptoms, such as delusions, negative symptoms, such as social withdrawal, and cognitive dysfunction.  Patients frequently exhibit aggression and hostility and may also experience affective symptoms, such as depression and anxiety.  To make a differential diagnosis of schizophrenia, particularly to rule out bipolar mania with psychotic features, a complete longitudinal patient history should be gathered.[3]

Symptoms of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia: treatment

In the treatment of schizophrenia, long-term goals are the relief of symptoms, achievement of full remission and establishing functional recovery to allow reintegration of the patient into society.  Clinical challenges in schizophrenia include reducing mortality rates, achieving functional recovery, reducing the risk of relapse and reducing associated brain tissue loss.  Adherence to treatment is a major concern in the management of patients with schizophrenia, especially as it may have a detrimental impact on treatment outcomes.[4],[5]

The atypical antipsychotics, such as aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine (SEROQUEL XR and SEROQUEL), risperidone and ziprasidone, are generally regarded as first-line treatment for schizophrenia. 

For more information about schizophrenia and SEROQUEL XR, please read our page about the efficacy of SEROQUEL XR for schizophrenia treatment.

References

1. World Health Organization. The global burden of disease 2004 update. 2008.
2. Prince et al. Lancet 2007; 370: 859-877.
3. Maguire GA. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2002; 59: S4-11.
4. Perkins DO. J Clin Psychiatry 2002; 63: 1121-1128.
5. Keith SJ & Kane JM. J Clin Psychiatry 2003; 64: 1308-1315.