Information and opinions on SchizophreniaConnection from Paul Ballas http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76 en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/ http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/27989/ethics-clinical Tue Apr 15 17:36:00 -0400 2008 Paul Ballas There is a lot of controversy surrounding research trials using human subjects to investigate new psychiatric medications. Maybe it's just because I work in psychiatry, but lately, almost every other day I see advertisements on TV asking for volunteers to participate in clinical trials investigating medications used to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and depression. Many patients with schizophrenia see these advertisements and have... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/27989/ethics-clinical http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/20566/tardive Tue Feb 19 15:31:00 -0500 2008 Paul Ballas Recently, I was reviewing the literature on tardive dyskinesia, and it struck me how frustrating it must be for patients who develop this disorder - not only because of the symptoms themselves, but also because of the frustration that may be encountered in trying to treat it. This entry will discuss some of the difficulties in treating tardive dyskinesia.   Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is one the four classic movement disorders associated... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/20566/tardive http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/19514/psychosis Tue Jan 22 22:57:00 -0500 2008 Paul Ballas One of the difficulties in long-term management of psychotic illnesses is that of compliance with medications used for the treatment of psychosis and depression. In a previous entry I discussed the issue of taking medication regularly in terms of psychiatric illness in general, but this can be a particular problem in treating depression in patients who experience psychosis. In this entry I will discuss some of the challenges of treating... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/19514/psychosis http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/7047/loved-seek Tue Jan 01 14:00:00 -0500 2008 Paul Ballas Question: My mother is 48 years old and exhibiting what appear to be early symptoms of schizophrenia. She is paranoid, delusional, disorganized and irrational. How can I convince her to seek psychiatric help? Every time I try, she attacks me and views me as an enemy.  Dr. Ballas: I am sorry to hear about the problems you are facing. The issue is almost as old as psychiatry: what’s to be done with someone with serious mental... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/7047/loved-seek http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/17091/global-health Thu Nov 29 19:17:00 -0500 2007 Paul Ballas Special Communication: World Federation for Mental Health Conference Transcultural Mental Health in a Changing World: Building a Global Response - October 29 - 31, 2007   I recently attended this conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota which was organized by The World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). This organization is devoted to worldwide advocacy, education, and research on severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia. The WFMH... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/17091/global-health http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/17069/abilify Thu Nov 29 14:20:00 -0500 2007 Paul Ballas Recently, the medication Abilify (aripiprazole) was approved by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia in the adolescent population aged 13 - 17. This is a significant development in the treatment of schizophrenia, and I thought it would be interesting to explain how this medication received this new indication after being on the market for several years.   On November 6th, 2007 it was announced that the U.S. Food and... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/17069/abilify http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/14131/issues Mon Sep 24 16:35:00 -0400 2007 Paul Ballas People with schizophrenia often have difficulty regularly taking their psychiatric medication, despite studies suggesting the great potential benefits of compliance to medication regiments. This issue is not limited to patients with psychotic disorders; in fact, several studies have found that a significant percentage of people with diabetes, heart conditions and neurologic disorders fail to take their medication regularly. The result is... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/14131/issues http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/12908/smoking Wed Aug 29 16:40:00 -0400 2007 Paul Ballas In my last post, I discussed some of the changes in lifestyle that can help improve the heart health of people with schizophrenia. I'd like to continue my discussion about one particular area, smoking. Some research has shown that people with schizophrenia smoke almost twice as much as the population in general. Depending on what research you look at between 50 and 70% of people with schizophrenia smoke compared to the national average... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/12908/smoking http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/12131/tips-heart Wed Aug 08 16:53:01 -0400 2007 Paul Ballas Recently, I posted a blog entry on the high rates of cardiovascular disease among people with schizophrenia. A reader asked if improvements in lifestyle for a relative with schizophrenia can help improve this situation. While I can't point to a large body of research that shows lifestyle changes reverse the higher risk of cardiac problems associated with schizophrenia, there are some important points that can be made:   People... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/12131/tips-heart http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/11158/role-life Mon Jul 09 16:34:00 -0400 2007 Paul Ballas Recently, a reader made a comment about life expectancy in people who have schizophrenia. This has been a subject of considerable debate for years in psychiatry. The sad truth is that people with the illness die sooner than the general population. Some research estimates that schizophrenia reduces life expectancy by 20%. Now the reasons for this lower life expectancy are important to consider because there is some hope in this situation. ... http://www.healthcentral.com/schizophrenia/c/76/11158/role-life