Research Paper on Children Schizophrenia

Introduction

Schizophrenia is a condition that involves a broad spectrum of complications with the thought process, emotions, and behaviors. Both genders are equally affected, but the male population has a higher affinity for the condition than their female counterparts. When the disorder's diagnosis occurs before the ages of 13, it is referred to as childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) (Bartlett, 2014). The condition is rare, with it affecting a population of 1 person in every 40,000, and its onset manifesting itself through premorbid abnormalities which usually affects the child's adaptive functioning, and also act as trigger warnings towards its occurrence (Gochman, Miller, & Rapoport, 2012). An assessment of early-onset schizophrenia and its disorder spectrum will occur, and the existing knowledge about the condition, valuation techniques, treatment approaches, differential considerations, and challenges faced in its diagnosis examined.

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Early-Onset Symptoms and Spectrum Disorders

Prompt and accurate diagnosis of Childhood-onset schizophrenia has a profound implication in the effectiveness of its treatment. Precise determination of childhood-onset schizophrenia lays in evaluation in children suspected of having educational, language, or speech deficits, and observing close family members as this is the best pointer to successful diagnosis (Driver et al., 2012; Gochman et al., 2012). According to a study done in 2012, the early premorbid developmental complications affiliated with the occurrence of COS included behavioral/ social at 72.03%, Motor functions at 44.07%, language and academic at 50.85%, and pervasive development disorder at 20.34% (Driver et al., 2012). Lack of adequate diagnosis and treatment leads to adult COS, which is more grave, with brain anomalies, encompass more pronounced pre-psychotic disorders, and contains a higher risk of genetic risk factors; most methods used for diagnosis are not as effective as clinician evaluations (Driver et al., 2012). Therefore, most of the diagnostic tools available for COS are observable to a trained clinician.

One of the methods used in determining the prevalence of childhood schizophrenia is searching for premorbid phenotype disturbances in the child. According to a survey done by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 55% of childhood-onset schizophrenia suffered from social and language abnormalities, while 57 % suffered from motor abnormalities some years before the onset of psychotic symptoms (Driver et al., 2012). These statistics added up to 67% of child COS sufferers showing premorbid disturbances in their motor, language, and social scopes, coupled with anxiety and comorbid mood disorders (Driver et al., 2012). The high statistics show that there is a correlation between premorbid phenotype and Children Schizophrenia, also, demonstrating that the former need to be one of the diagnosis tool signifying to the occurrence of the latter.

Other methods involve abnormal physical and neurologic identification and examination through medical etiologies such as seizure disorders, herpes simplex encephalitis, neurodegenerative and chromosomal disorders, lysosomal storage diseases among others. The patient may also go through imaging, to determine if they have structural brain abnormalities, characterized by a reduced gray matter reduction in the amygdala, hippocampus, and cortex area (Driver et al., 2012). Therefore, identification of symptoms through physical means, imaging, and premorbid disturbances are one of the best ways to identify the early onset of children schizophrenia

Causes of Children Schizophrenia

The underlying factors that contribute to the development of childhood schizophrenia are poorly understood, although its correlation with adulthood schizophrenia is strong. There is a significant correlation between COS and genetics, which includes heritable components and genetic mutations (Bartlett, 2014). Some studies have shown the risk factor is substantially at 80% when there is a family history of mental illness, schizophrenia spectrum, personality disorders, or any other psychiatric syndromes (Bartlett, 2014). Additionally, there is a substantial role of the genes in the development of schizophrenia, with one study identifying up to 94 of them, with most of them related to neurotransmitters functionality such as serotonin, dopamine, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) (Bartlett, 2014). Therefore, it is evident that gene mutation and heritable traits are one of the major contributors to childhood schizophrenia.

Additionally, the pre-natal and obstetric complications may also lead to the likelihood of a child developing schizophrenia. Exposure to influenza and Rubella virus, respiratory infections, malnutrition, and analgesics in the pre-natal stages increases the possibility of getting the illness, with the influence virus increasing the likelihood by seven times (Bartlett, 2014). Other factors include complications with neurodevelopmental growth and negative family interactions.

Treatment

The treatment of childhood-onset schizophrenia requires an interdisciplinary health care team, comprising of pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers. There are two types of medications offered to a childhood-onset schizophrenia patient, and they differ in their side effects and efficacy; these include typical and atypical. The former category is known as first-generation antipsychotics, and comprise of drugs such as loxapine and haloperidol; additionally, they are known to have adverse side effects to the patients, whereby, they can cause involuntary movements of the hands, face, limbs, and tongue (Bartlett, 2014). The severity of the side effects makes typical antipsychotics usage to be rare, and as a last resort towards curing childhood schizophrenia, although the response rate is favorable, at 72 % (Bartlett, 2014). Antipsychotics, on the other hand, have a low efficacy rate (55%), but the side effects are less acute; they include seizures, weight gain, high cholesterol, and diabetes (Bartlett, 2014). Other methods used include therapeutic interventions such as social skills training, individual therapy, and family therapy (Bartlett, 2014). These methods increase the efficacy in the rehabilitation and cure of childhood-onset schizophrenia.

Conclusion

Children onset schizophrenia detection, and cure is crucial in ensuring that the severity of the condition is mitigated and reduce the suffering faced by the patient. While the causes of the disorder are mostly brought about by genetics, prenatal complications, negative family interactions, and complications in neurodevelopmental growth, there are several ways that diagnostic tools available that can pinpoint the occurrence of childhood schizophrenia. Treatment also varies, with both typical and atypical methods used, although both differ in their efficacy and side effects. Childhood-onset schizophrenia remains a mystery, and while some of the foundational knowledge of the challenges, etiology, and treatment, there is the need for more mechanisms and research put into place, to fill the gaps in knowledge that hinder complete understanding of development and maintenance of Childhood-onset schizophrenia.

References

Bartlett, J. (2014). Childhood-onset schizophrenia: what do we really know?. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine: an Open Access Journal, 2(1), 735-747.

Driver, D. I., Gogtay, N., & Rapoport, J. L. (2013). Childhood onset schizophrenia and early-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics, 22(4), 539-555.

Gochman, P., Miller, R., & Rapoport, J. L. (2011). Childhood-onset schizophrenia: the challenge of diagnosis. Current psychiatry reports, 13(5), 321.