General question about sz

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  1. schizophrenia is a illness of the brain or its cause is in other part of body (stomach for example)?
  2. schizophrenia origins in the pre-natal development or after the birth?
  3. when scientist will understand the schizophrenia and will find a cure?
  4. the only cure now available are antypsicotics?
  5. a complete healing is possible?
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All I can say is that everything is relevant to the individual; some people only have one psychotic break and nothing more, while others are treatment resistant (like me).
APs are not a cure, they’re more like a bandaid; but for most people, they grant a quality of life that they couldn’t get without.
If you think about it though, a lot of Illnesses do not have cures—only bandaids.

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[quote=“stellaglow, post:2, topic:104429, full:true”] …a lot of Illnesses do not have cures—only bandaids.
[/quote]

I’d beg to differ. A lot of diseases have cures.

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Yes, but a lot of diseases also don’t have cures, and that was @stellaglow’s point.

I don’t believe a complete cure of schizophrenia is possible.
I believe it’s possible to learn a lot of coping techniques and to compensate, but I don’t believe it’s possible to be completely schizophrenia-free.

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I have no proof but…

I think sz is a brain disease.

Sz doesnt affect fetuses.

Scientist …i dont think they will ever find out where sz comes from but i think they will make better pills or some kind of other curing method.

They also do the elecric treatment for it.

I dont think you can get rid of sz. Some people can live without pills now though.

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  1. Yes, a brain-based illness, although it can carry higher risks for diseases in other body systems, probably due to overlap in genetic issues.
  2. Both. Risk factors include genetic, prenatal, and environmental issues, especially at younger ages. Pretty much anything that can lead to brain damage, from stress, to disease (especially in utero or infancy) to head injury, is a potential risk.
  3. I’m guessing that due to advances in brain scanning, genomics, proteomics, stem cell medicine and even AI (to allow us to sort and understand all this data) there will be a functional cure within 50 years. Probably less. Functional cure meaning you might have to have ongoing care but you would have normal function.
  4. Meds are the best bet, but therapy, exercise, supplements are also important.
  5. Some people do get 100% better. Maybe 10-15%. A larger number get significantly, but not entirely, better.
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If only it could be within 10-20 years. I have a lot of hope in AI and stem cells. AI will be the game changer imo.

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Well, within 50 includes 10 or 20.

Anyway, treatments will certainly get better in that period of time.

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  1. Schizophrenia is an illness of the brain.
  2. After birth. It is believed to be genetic.
  3. Difficult to say. Schizophrenia research is still going on.
  4. Anti psychotics are not the only cure. But they are the best option.
  5. A complete reduction of symptoms is possible.
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I am very lucky that present day treatment works on me. I consider myself to be so very blessed. For many, many years it didn’t work.

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  1. Currently most popular theory is it’s caused by issues in the brain. However it’s been explored that there are other possible causes as well and schizophrenia may just be a blanket term for anyone with psychosis regardless of different causes. With more research there may be different categories and thus more targeted treatments.

  2. Scientists believe they can spot signs of sz in early childhood, even in infancy. I don’t remember ever reading about prenatal studies. However typical symptom onset is in late teens for boys and somewhat later for girls.

  3. Who knows. Scientists barely understand anything about the brain. A cure is probably a very long ways off. However more ways to manage symptoms are being developed all the time.

  4. Antipsychotics are not a cure for sz. They do not heal you or fix whatever malfunctions is causing psychosis. They simply mask symptoms. Think of how when you are sick you may take Advil to make you feel normal so you can go to work. You’re still sick, and if you stopped taking it it it wore off and you didn’t take more your symptoms would show up again. In fact quitting antipsychotics often results in psychotic symptoms being more severe than before. The rate of relapse for schizophrenics who quit medication is extremely high.

  5. No, you can’t heal schizophrenia, it’s not a wound. You can have complete remission which is where you’re symptom free for at least a year with the right medication. Remission isn’t the same as being healed because your symptoms could still flare up again. There are people who have been in remission for 20 years, make the mistake thinking they’re cured, stop meds and have a massive relapse.