Brain Health: Omega-3 Fatty Acids ("Fish Oil")

Most people who have been researching how to help a child’s brain develop healthily, have read a lot about essential fatty acids (EFAs), specifically, Omega-3 fatty acids. They are essential to the proper development and functioning of our nervous system, including brain and vision, as well as the cardiovascular system.

Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia Has High Rates of Comorbid Diagnoses Including Autism and ADHD

Research backs up what some parents of children with childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) have observed. They have noticed that COS, which is characterized by an onset of psychosis prior to age thirteen, seems to have many overlapping symptoms of autistic-spectrum disorders, sensory issues and attentional problems.

Specific Genes Inherited from Both Parents May Lead to Type of "Schizophrenia"

Some families have noticed a form of schizophrenia that runs in their particular family which seems to "skip" a generation. What that indicates is that there may be recessive genes involved in one parent's "schizophrenia". (That's what happened in my own family, but at least in the younger generation, we were able to beat that "genetic curse").

Genetic Links to “Developmental”, “Mental”, “Auto-Immune” and other Medical Disorders

The United States National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) refers to Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia as a neurodevelopmental disorder. Extensive genetic research of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders has linked it to many other genetically complex medical and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Viral Infections and Schizophrenia

Even as far back as 100 years ago, scientists perceived a connection between viral infections and "non-affective" psychosis. One of the leading schizophrenia researchers of the time, Kraepelin, proposed that such an infection may be a cause of "dementia praecox" (now called "schizophrenia"). An epidemic of "schizophrenic-syndrome" occurred following the devastating 1918 influenza pandemic.

Sets of Symptoms--Not the Cause–Get Diagnostic Labels

When medical science does not know the specific cause of a set of symptoms, it provides a diagnostic label that encompasses the set of symptoms even if it really says nothing about the cause of the symptoms.

Solving the Puzzle of "Schizophrenia" and "Bipolar Disorder"

I have always thought of all the symptoms my daughter has had as pieces of a "puzzle". It turns out that there were more pieces than I initially thought—I didn’t even recognize small pieces here and there as part of the puzzle.

Musings on “Medical Mysteries”

There are some fictional and nonfictional "medical mysteries" television shows (such as "Mystery Diagnosis") that I have enjoyed watching.

What I find quite revealing in the real-life medical mysteries is that in case after case the people were told that their symptoms were not "real" – i.e. they were "mental".

Autism Is Not a “Mental Illness”

Remember that the term "mental illness" is not a diagnosis.

It is jargon -- a term society uses to refer to some, usually severe and persistent biologically-based, disorders of the brain such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder which are in the psychiatric manual of symptoms and labels for sets of symptoms arising from some malfunction of the brain, regardless of cause. This psychiatric manual is called the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). In the DSM, there are hundreds of labels for sets of symptoms we do not consider "mental illness" including symptoms arising from traumatic brain injury, hyperthyroidism, vitamin deficiency, enteritis (intestinal inflammation), and more.  Some people include psychopathology under the umbrella term "mental" illness.  Some think of personality disorders and emotional issues as "mental illness" but others do not. So it is a social term.

The parents of children with autism worked very hard to change public and medical perception of the diagnosis of "autism." It is listed in the DSM-IV, but that does not make it a “mental illness,” at least not in the socially used jargon. It is considered a developmental disorder, but then, some doctors advocate that is what "schizophrenia" is as well.[1]

Some dictionaries may define autism, and anything else in the DSM, as "mental illness" (here), which would include head trauma, mitochondrial disease, Parkinson's, mental retardation, brain effects from Celiac, etc., but enlightened society generally does not refer to these as "mental" illnesses anymore, knowing they are medical issues.  

Is Pediatric-Onset Bipolar Actually a Behavioral Disorder?

Every now and then, someone like John Rosemond will blast the diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder in children, saying that it is labeling toddler behavior with a psychiatric diagnosis.

Is a Correctly Diagnosed Case of Schizophrenia, by Definition, “Mental”?

If a person really has schizophrenia, and schizophrenia is a mental illness, then shouldn't we think of that person as having an illnessd that truly is MENTAL -- that is of the MIND -- and not a medical condition??

Once again, the answer is not as obvious as it seems.

Mitochondrial Dysfunction & Psychiatric Symptoms

Nerves and muscles require a lot of energy and are quite vulnerable to disruptions in their metabolic needs.

Most people who have heard about genetic defects causing mitochondrial dysfunction are probably most familiar with MELAS.