Schizophrenia: An Overview

Few changes were made to the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia in DSM-5. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness with positive symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and behavior), negative symptoms, and cognitive impairment. Discoveries in genetics, neuroimaging, and immune function continue to advance understanding of the etiologies for this elusive disease. The authors reviewed the current literature to give an overview. The topics include historical foundations, epidemiology, suicide risk, genomewide association studies, twin studies, neuroimaging, ventricular size, complement component 4 mediated synapse elimination, major histocompatibility complex markers, and associations seen in obstetrical complications, nutritional issues, prodromal and attenuated states, cannabis use, childhood trauma, immigration, and traumatic brain injury. Also reviewed are expressed emotions of caregivers and recidivism, conditions comorbid with obsessive-compulsive disorder, mood disorders, substance use, and finally some legal and ethical issues. These important developments in elucidating the disease mechanism will likely allow for the development of future novel treatment strategies.