Schizoaffective Disorder Research Paper

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PATHOPHYSIOLOGY Disease: Schizoaffective Disorder Definition: Schizoaffective disorder is a serious mental illness that has features of two different conditions, schizophrenia and an affective (mood) disorder, either major depression or bipolar disorder. It is a condition in which a person experiences a combination of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations or delusions as well as mood disorder symptoms, such as mania or depression. Schizoaffective disorder is a mix of multiple mental health conditions that may run a unique course in each affected person. Schizoaffective disorder usually begins in the late teen years or early adulthood, often between the ages of 16 and 30. It seems to occur slightly more often in women than in…show more content…
Although there are no laboratory tests to specifically diagnose schizoaffective disorder, the doctor may use various tests, such as X-rays or blood tests in order to rule out a physical illness as the cause of the symptoms. If the doctor finds no physical reason for the symptoms, he or she may refer the person to a psychiatrist or psychologist, mental health professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. Psychiatrists and psychologists use specially designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for a psychotic disorder. A diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder is made if a person has periods of uninterrupted illness and has, at some point, an episode of mania, major depression or mix of both while also having symptoms of schizophrenia. In addition, to diagnose the illness, the person must display a period of at least two weeks of psychotic symptoms without the mood symptoms. schizoaffective disorder is typically identified by a process of lengthy observation and elimination of another diagnostic alternative over a long course of care. A very thorough history of the client's entire past experiences of psychiatric symptoms, mental health treatments, and response to different kinds of medications that have been taken, helps in determining whether that individual is…show more content…
Examples of atypical or novel antipsychotic medications include risperidone (Risperdal), quetiapine (Seroquel) (Patient P.O. is on both of these medications), and olanzapine (Zyprexa). If the patient's psychotic symptoms are acute and accompanied by agitation, a number of different antipsychotics can be used to terminate the flare-up of acute agitated psychosis. Agitation is a state of frantic activity that is often accompanied by anger or marked fearfulness; when in an agitated state, the client is more likely to cause harm to self or others. In agitated psychotic states, the antipsychotic agent haloperidol (Haldol) is often given as an injection, accompanied by other medications that decrease anxiety and slow behavior (often lorazepam , also known as Ativan). At this time, there are no atypical antipsychotics available in an injectable formulation. If the client is not extremely agitated, usually a novel antipsychotic is used, given orally daily, for a lengthier period of time. In some cases, the antipsychotic medication is not sufficient to overcome the mood disturbance component of the disorder, even though some antipsychotics have thymoleptic (mood-affecting) qualities. Some of the atypical antipsychotic medications are thought to have antidepressant properties, while olanzapine has an FDA approval for the management of acute manic
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