In this interview, Dr. Lorenzo Norris, of Clinical Psychiatry News, and Dr. Henry A. Nasrallah, of Current Psychiatry, discuss the groundbreaking work of physicians that shows how early schizophrenia can begin manifesting in the brain. And they ask why psychiatry doesn’t seem to be taking the loss of brain tissue seen in schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis more seriously. When it comes to illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, physicians recognize the need to conserve brain tissue. Why is that not the case for schizophrenia?
“We can do much more for our patients than we’re doing right now,” Dr. Nasrallah said. “We’re delaying treatment, and that can lead to more brain damage. We also allow patients to relapse again and again ... it’s like benign neglect.”
Dr. Norris, editor in chief of MdEdge Psychiatry, has no disclosures. Dr. Nasrallah, editor in chief of Current Psychiatry, serves as a consultant and on the advisory boards of several companies, including Acadia, Alkermes, Allergan, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Janssen, Lundbeck, Neurocrine, Otsuka, Sunovion, and Teva. He also serves on speakers bureaus of several companies.