Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental disorders. It afflicts about 1 percent of the world's population. Most patients develop the disease from their late teens to mid-20's. Men tend to develop it earlier than women and often more severely.

Many people with schizophrenia develop delusions and behave as though they live in a fantasy world. They may hear "voices" that others cannot hear. The patients may believe that these "voices" carry messages from important people, or even from God. Schizophrenics often suffer disturbances in mood and behavior. Some patients seem to feel no emotions, but others may display inappropriate emotions, such as laughing at sad situations. Some patients withdraw from their family and friends and talk mainly to themselves or to their "voices."

Physicians do not know the cause of schizophrenia. Viral infections, drug abu

Although ECT is simple to administer, it must be adjusted to each individual case. The number of treatments varies, but most patients receive about three a week, with a total of 6 to 10 treatments over a two- to three-week period. Physicians determine the amount and the duration of the electric shock by monitoring the patient's brain waves to be sure that a seizure is produced. Pretreatment medications and general anesthesia are usually given so that the patient experiences no discomfort and neither feels the electric current nor consciously experiences the seizure.

When physicians first used insulin to produce unconsciousness, they hoped it would cure schizophrenia. But the treatment helped only in some cases, and it often produced only temporary improvement. For these reasons, and because it is difficult to administer safely, the treatment is no longer used in the United States.

Some topics in this essay:
God Schizophrenics, United Electroconvulsive, Mental Disorders, , Eugen Bleuler, United Symptoms, Emil Kraepelin, severe mental, shock treatment, mental disorders, medical imaging studies, scientists developed drugs, people schizophrenia, gray matter, imaging studies, electric current, patient's brain, mental illnesses, dementia praecox,