Health Expert Jerry Kennard shares health management news and commentary at HealthCentral.com. HealthCentral.com is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/674/index http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/674/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/profiles/c/674/index http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/62953/schizophrenia Fri, 13 Mar 2009 07:22:23 -0400 Jerry Kennard The precise cause of childhood schizophrenia is not known. As with adult schizophrenia there is an assumed relationship between genetic factors the environment. Possible causes include family history, birth trauma, exposure to viruses in the womb or parents being older.   Schizophrenia in children is essentially no different to adult schizophrenia but diagnosis at an early age is difficult. Natural development can include fantasy and even... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/62953/schizophrenia http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/62098/schizophrenia Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:49:07 -0500 Jerry Kennard Depression is a frequently occurring symptom in schizophrenia. Some maintain that depression is a symptom of schizophrenia whilst others view it as a discrete mood disorder. Whatever the standpoint the importance of depression in schizophrenia is important for at least two reasons. First, anything that adds to the difficulties and discomfort of the individual needs to be addressed. Secondly, schizophrenia is recognized as having the highest... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/62098/schizophrenia http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/59858/schizophrenia Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:59:27 -0500 Jerry Kennard Learn More: One of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of schizophrenia derives from a lack of knowledge and understanding. Quite simply, the more you learn, the easier it becomes to understand and explain what is happening and why. Although good progress has been made, schizophrenia still isn't fully understood, so don't try searching for the answer or the treatment, because they don't exist. It's far better, and actually fairly easy,... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/59858/schizophrenia http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/58090/violence Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:35:47 -0500 Jerry Kennard Mental illness has always provided a convenient if frequently erroneous explanation for acts of aggression and violence. Although evidence is somewhat mixed, the vast body of data points to the mentally ill as being more likely to be the victims of violence rather than the perpetrators.   Recent research by professor Eric Elbogen, PhD, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, confirms that mental illness alone does not increase... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/58090/violence http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/51203/schizophrenia Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:20:37 -0500 Jerry Kennard One of the first targeted treatments for schizophrenia has been announced in this month's American Journal of Psychiatry. The new drug, currently referred to as experimental compound MK-0777, targets working memory problems.   Working memory refers to a temporary storage and processing system. It is an active system in the sense that information stays in memory only so long as the person is consciously manipulating or processing it. Any... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/51203/schizophrenia http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/51064/low-childhood Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:06:23 -0500 Jerry Kennard Children with a low IQ (intelligence quotient) have an increased risk of developing mental health problems such as schizophrenia, depression and generalized anxiety disorder. These are the findings of a study spanning 30 years, and published in the Journal of Psychiatry. Findings were based on a sample of 1,037 children born in 1972-73 in Dunedin, New Zealand.   The association between low IQ and psychiatric disorders is long suspected.... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/51064/low-childhood http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/50410/schizophrenia Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:53:43 -0500 Jerry Kennard Whether schizophrenia affects you or a loved one, you want to know how long it will last, and when things will get better. So, it must be frustrating to be answered along the lines of, ‘it depends', or, ‘there are a lot of things to consider', or, ‘we really can't say for sure.' What people really want to know is whether they, or their loved one, can ever return to being the person they were before schizophrenia entered their... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/50410/schizophrenia http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/49523/schizophrenia Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:54:09 -0500 Jerry Kennard Even if you only have a passing interest in the latest schizophrenia research news, one thing stands out above all others, the emphasis on genes. Because of this, it must occur to some people that their outlook, or perhaps that of their children, is both predetermined and fairly bleak. But it need not be this way.   Current wisdom states that schizophrenia has its basis both in our genes and in environmental stressors occurring very early... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/49523/schizophrenia http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/49087/mental-illness Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:31:48 -0500 Jerry Kennard It is fairly rare to come across a groundbreaking theory that makes scientists take stock of their existing assumptions. This may be precisely what is about to happen with a new theory proposed by Bernard Crespi, an evolutionary biologist at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Christopher Badcock, a sociologist at the London School of Economics. The basis of the theory is that genetically based mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or autism... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/49087/mental-illness http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/45189/understanding Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:14:34 -0400 Jerry Kennard The number of people who hear voices at some point in their lives may be as high as 15 percent of the population. Despite this, voices are poorly understood and frequently feared. In western cultures we have come to view voices as a feature of mental illness (along with all the stigma that comes with this), yet in some cultures voices are regarded as a gift that extends the person's senses beyond those of normal people.   It is often... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/674/45189/understanding