suicide and schizophrenia

Question 1

what two mental health disorders combined have the highest suicide risk?

Answer 1

schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Question 2

what is HPA?

Answer 2

hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress response system
- is a complex system of neuroendocrine pathways and feedback loops that function to maintain physiological homeostasis

Question 3

what are the risk factors of suicide?

Answer 3

family history, child maltreatment, previous attempts, history of mental disorders, alcohol/substance abuse

Question 4

what is the neurobiology of suicide risks?

Answer 4

• dysregulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA)
• neural communication via serotonin and other neurotransmitters such as glutamate
• corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) has been found in higher concentrations in the brains of people who die by suicide
• enlarged adrenal glands
• cortisol levels found to be both higher and lower than normal in people who have attempted
• NR3C1 also known as glucocorticoid receptor may be lower abundance in people who die of suicide

Question 5

symptoms of schizophrenia

Answer 5

• positive + symptoms; hallucination, delusions, agitation
• negative - symptoms; lack of drive, withdrawal, apathy

Question 6

what are the types of schizophrenia?

Answer 6

• disorganised schizophrenia = disorganised behaviour
• catatonic schizophrenia = dramatic reduction in activity
• paranoid schizophrenia = blur between what’s real and not

Question 7

causes of schizophrenia

Answer 7

GENETICS
- tendency for both monozygotic twins to develop schizophrenia is between 30-50%
- 13% of biological relatives of adoptees with schizophrenia had the disease