Publications
Partners
Summary
• Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disease
• There may be several psychotic episodes
• During psychotic episodes a person loses contact with reality
• The disease is caused by abnormalities in the chemicals (neurotransmitters) in the brain
• While the symptoms of the illness can be treated and controlled, the condition is incurable.
What is schizophrenia?
One of the most misused psychiatric terms is the word "schizophrenia", which is often incorrectly used to describe someone with a "split personality". This, however, is a total misconception.
Schizophrenia is a serious disorder of the brain that affects how people think, feel and act. If not treated correctly, it can cause severe disability and loss of function.
Any person can develop the disorder and it can occur at any age, although it is rare for a person to develop the disorder after the age of 45 for the first time. It usually appears at a young age (late teens and early twenties).
Emil Kraepelin (1856 - 1936) first described this disease at the beginning of the 20th century and the name "schizophrenia" was used in 1911 by Eugene Bleuler (1857 - 1939).
Reviewed by Dr Tasneem Mahomed, MBBCh (Wits), FC Psych (SA), Mmed Psych (Wits),
Psychiatrist in private practice, Cape Town. March 2015.
