L25 - Schizophrenia

Question 1

Positive symptoms in Schiz

Answer 1

Psychotic behaviours not seen in healthy people such as:

a) Hallucinations
b) Delusions
c) Thought and movement disorder.

Question 2

Negative symptoms in schiz

Answer 2

Disruptions to normal behaviours such as:

a) Flat affect - no facial emotion and motonous voice
b) Avolition - lack of ability to begin and sustain planned activities
c) Alogia - speaking little

Question 3

Cognitive symptoms in schiz

Answer 3

Poor executive functioning (affects understanding info and decision making), attention, working memory (ability to use new info)

Question 4

Effects of Clozapine

Answer 4

Extended therapeutic reach

Anti-suicide effects

Cause AGRANULOCYTOSIS – POTENTIALLY LETHAL SIDE EFFECT

Question 5

Structural symptoms in the brain for people with Schiz (not everyone has them though)

Answer 5

• Enlarged ventricles
• Loss of large numbers of neurons
• DLPFC affected (all schiz have it)
• Over/underpruning of synapses in lead up to adulthood

Question 6

As females have late onset, what is suggested as a protective factor women have against schiz?

Answer 6

Estrogen
*Study shown that female with schiz given antipsychotic along side with estrogen stimulating drug = improvement of overall symptoms in the patient

Question 7

T/F - Some individuals have a single episode of schiz and then suddenly recover

Answer 7

T

Question 8

x number of genes associated with schiz, each gene brings extremely small risk. What is the strongest genetic association at population level?

Answer 8

108 - MHC (major histocompatibility complex) gene complement component 4 stood out

Question 9

MuscR and schizophrenia - People with schiz low/high level of muscR, 25% of people with shiz have lost x% of M1 MuscR due to cognitive defects, MuscR antag make cognitive deficits better or worse?

Answer 9

Low, 75%, Worse

Question 10

List one selective MuscR agonist that is a novel treatment approach for schiz

Answer 10

Xanomeline