Treatment of schizophrenia in women

People often ask: is schizophrenia treated in women? Not treated, neither in women, nor in men, nor in children. While this disease is incurable, and even with the successful achievement of a long-term remission, the return of an acute condition is possible. However, with timely assistance, it is possible to achieve such a long remission that it can be equated to recovery.

Special treatments for schizophrenia in women are not used. Persons of any gender and age who are diagnosed with schizophrenia are shown, above all, drug therapy. Many patients take medications throughout their lives. Such supportive therapy allows them to live a near-normal life.

In most cases, the first call for help occurs in an acute attack of schizophrenia, when the symptoms of psychosis are expressed quite clearly. It is not the patients themselves who turn more often, but their relatives. Urgent hospitalization requires a state of psychomotor agitation.

In milder cases, both close people and the patient themselves can turn to a medical facility. Quite often, outpatient treatment may be indicated.

There are many problems in the treatment of such patients. They may not want to be treated, and not considering themselves to be sick, ignore medical appointments, may tritely forget to take the drugs, however, their condition depends on the admission regimen prescribed by the doctor.

Since the pathogenesis of schizophrenia is not yet reliably known, symptomatic treatment is carried out. The main drugs are neuroleptics, with the advent of which a new era has begun in the treatment of schizophrenia, since they all have efficacy against productive symptoms, stabilize mood, and new-generation drugs, studies show, normalize the size of the basal ganglia. Their action is still being investigated and new finds are possible.

Used drugs of different generations, they all have a wide range of side effects. Patients also respond to them individually. It is not always possible to choose a suitable drug the first time, sometimes you have to try several items before a suitable remedy is found.

Still quite relevant in the treatment of schizophrenia and, especially, the acute state of the disease, remains Aminazin - the first drug of this class. The antipsychotic effect of the drug is realized through the blockade of central dopaminergic and α-adrenoreceptors. Its main feature is a pronounced soothing effect, the strength of which is directly proportional to the dose of the drug. Aminazine inhibits all types of motor activity, but especially related to motor-defensive conditioned reflexes, relaxes the skeletal muscles, lowers blood pressure. Under its action, the patient's body is in a state close to physiological sleep. The drug does not have the effect of drugs, the awakening does not cause the patient difficulties. It eliminates productive symptoms well and has a positive effect on the emotional background.

In addition to Aminazine from early antipsychotics, Haloperidol is used to treat schizophrenia, acting on the same groups of receptors as the previous drug. Typical antipsychotics are able to quickly stop productive symptoms, relieve anxiety and improve the mood and emotional status of the patient. Drugs in this group have the ability to influence the frequency and intensity of nucleation of nerve impulses in different parts of the central nervous system and their transfer to the periphery. They are able to influence the metabolic processes in the cerebral cortex, respectively, with this ability are associated with the neuroplegic side effects they cause - muscle numbness, persistent muscle spasms, tremors in the limbs and other extrapyramidal reactions. Strengthens the effect of other sedatives, inhibits various reflex activity, providing the physiological processes of homeostatic regulation of the functions of internal organs.

Preparations of a later period, the so-called atypical antipsychotics, practically do not have such side effects as extrapyramidal disorders. The drug Clozapine, the first of this group, is widely used to treat schizophrenia, especially in cases that are resistant to traditional therapy. Subsequent drugs (Seroquel, risperidone) with high-dose administration, also belonging to the atypical class, cause extrapyramidal syndromes more often than Clozapine. The active ingredient of the drug is a tricyclic derivative of dibenzodiazepine, one of its metabolites is benzodiazepine, which provides a powerful anxiolytic effect.

When treating schizophrenia with clozapine, the therapeutic effect is achieved in most cases much faster than its classmates. It has a pronounced antipsychotic, anti-depressive and sedative effects, as well as moderate anti-mania. Effective for the treatment of persons with acute depersonalization, showing suicidal intent and / or uncontrolled aggression. In relation to the impact on cognitive abilities, the test results give conflicting data: in some cases, researchers note a positive effect, in others - a negative effect. A serious side effect of clozapine is a significant reduction in the level of leukocytes in the blood (agranulocytosis), so regular therapy of the blood is required when treating this drug. It is this dangerous property of the drug that makes it a backup agent, used only in cases where other agents - Seroquel, Risperidone, Sertindol, which do not cause agranulocytosis and less often than typical antipsychotics, leading to the development of extrapyramidal reactions, are ineffective.

A relatively new atypical antipsychotic drug Aripiprazole is also used to treat schizophrenia. It is effective for the relief of productive symptoms, especially when the patient has manic manifestations. Its pharmacological properties are still being studied, but it is known that the drug is well tolerated and provides a low incidence of side effects (extrapyramidal, hyperprolactinemia, weight gain, cardiovascular dysfunctions, etc.), which is of great importance if you need long-term (permanent) use.

The absolute contraindications to the use of antipsychotics are severe systemic pathologies of the brain and spinal cord, inflammatory and degenerative diseases of the liver and kidneys, decompensated heart disease, disorders of hemopoiesis, myxedema, and thrombosis of blood vessels.

Dosing drugs individually, to deviate from the treatment regimen proposed by the doctor is not recommended. When the course is interrupted, withdrawal syndrome occurs, therefore, the drug should be withdrawn gradually and under medical supervision. You cannot change the dosage yourself.

If the patient has symptoms of depression, antidepressants are added to the treatment regimen. In the presence of concomitant diseases, appropriate therapy is prescribed, based on known drug interactions.

Patients with a compensated neuroleptic condition are prescribed a course of psychosocial therapy that helps in solving a variety of problems that arise in patients. They have communication and motivational difficulties, problems with self-service and work. Classes with a psychologist will help the patient to adapt to the community after intensive treatment. In addition, patients covered by the psychosocial rehabilitation program more faithfully follow the recommendations of the doctor, suffer less from exacerbations and go to a psychiatric hospital. Receiving information from a psychotherapist about his illness, modern principles of its treatment and the importance of taking medications, patients can make a conscious and informed decision about the need for medical control, as well as learn how to stop permanent symptoms and recognize precursors of exacerbations and prevent them.