Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to understand what is real. Common symptoms include false beliefs, unclear or confused thinking, auditory and visual hallucinations, reduced social engagement and emotional expression, and a lack of motivation."

Source : Wikipedia

Current estimates are that at any one time there are around 20 million sufferers of schizophrenia worldwide. It's known that a variety of situations can be triggers in vulnerable individuals - stress, drug use, infections, genetic factors etc - but the pathways (and commonality, if there is any) have not yet been discovered.

The past several decades have […] brought tremendous advances in neuropharmacology that have extended our understanding of schizophrenia at both a neurochemical and neuroanatomical level. However, despite the advent of sophisticated analysis and imaging tools, or perhaps even because of them, our ability to synthesize a coherent model of schizophrenia remains as elusive as ever."

Source : J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2001 Nov; 26(5): 395–410.

Currently, medication can help relieve the severity of the symptoms rather than addressing the causes. Designing effective medications is highly problematic since the causes of the disorder have yet to be accurately identified.

Note : Several of the drugs which are currently used to help control the symptoms, work by as-yet-unknown mechanisms. Examples Modafinilplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigModafinil

Modafinil (sold under the brand names Alertec, Alertex, Altasomil, Aspendos, Forcilin, Intensit, Mentix, Modafinil, Modafinilo, Modalert, Modanil, Modasomil, Modvigil, Modiodal, Modiwake, Movigil, Provigil, Resotyl, Stavigile, Vigia, Vigicer, Vigil, Vigimax, Wakelert and Zalux and Risperidoneplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigRisperidone

Risperidone, was widely approved for use in the late 1990s. Sold under the brand names Aleptan, Arketin, Diaforin, Krisp, Risperdal, Okedi and many others, it's used to treat Schizophrenia, Major Depressive Disorder, Stuttering, Tourette syndrome and sometimes Autism

"Exact mechanism of antipsychotic action has not been fully elucidated;

Also see : Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)plugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigBorderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

"Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness that severely impacts a person’s ability to regulate their emotions. This loss of emotional control can increase impulsivity, affect how a person feels about themselves, and negatively impact their relationships with others."

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