Mental Illness and Homelessness

Schizophrenics are not lazy people. They have metabolic problems (1-3), some of which are due to the drugs that they take (3).

There have been a number of reports about homelessness in the mentally ill (6-11). My view is that improvements in treatments are needed to alleviate this problem.

Homelessness

There have been deaths among the homeless (12, 13). Many probably have substance abuse problems, but they could have both schizophrenia and substance abuse. This is called a "dual diagnosis".

Dopamine

Dopamine has long been suspected in schizophrenia. For one thing, methamphetamine acts on dopamine (18, 19) and has a similar chemical structure. The similarity in chemical structure is probably why it acts on dopamine. Methamphetamine psychosis is very similar to schizophrenia.

Chemicals with similar structures can compete with each other for enzymes.

Psychiatric Drugs

Psychiatric drugs have had terrible side effects (20, 21). Some can produce a synthetic Parkinson's disease. But then what is the answer? My suggestion is orthomolecular treatment.

Orthomolecular Treatments

One orthomolecular treatment is the Harris diet, named after Dr. Seale Harris. Harris designed this diet for hypoglycemia. In orthomolecular theory schizophrenia is similar to hypoglycemia. Sugar is considered bad because it triggers the release of insulin. Sugar is considered to make schizophrenia worse.

More information on this subject is given in the references (24-27).

Eccentric Theories

One of the more eccentric theories is given at www.wpanet.org. This is the website of the World Psychiatric Association. Dr. Segundo Mesa Castillo of Havana, Cuba favors the virus theory.

Dr. Mesa of Cuba has reported big vacuoles in platelets with fibrillar material and particles. He has assumed that the particles represent a virus. My view is that the particles may be a toxin. He claims to have a "biological" test for schizophrenia. This part of it may be true. The test involves a microscopic study of the platelets. He calls the biological test "BT". He favors antiviral drugs as treatments, including interferon.

Conclusions

But what do we do about the homeless? My view is that they need treatment. My theory is that most of these people either have a substance abuse problem or some other form of mental illness. In the past drugs have been used as treaments. In view of the crisis state of the situation, I think that it would be fair to say that the drugs have failed. Of course, there are probably many that are not in treatment.

I favor alternative treatments. These alternatives include, but are not restricted to, orthomolecular medicine. I also favor cognitive therapy, self-help groups, and pschosocial rehabilitation. These are not easy problems, and a magical solution is unlikely. My view is that many of the homeless may be suffering from malnutrition. These should be given nutritional supplements and the right foods (fruits, grain, and vegetables). The healthiest foods are also the cheapest. Steak is very expensive and very unhealthy. Steak has cholesterol and saturated fats. It has red meat, which is considered a risk factor for colon cancer.

The government has a tendency to give out very expensive prescription drugs to a lot of people. However, I don't see this happening with nutritional supplements, which are much cheaper. The government could save massive amounts of money if it recognized orthomolecular treatment.

References

1. Metabolic Profiling of Patients with Schizophrenia Rima Kaddurah-DaoukPLoS Med. 2006 August; 3(8): e363. Published online 2006 August 22. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030363. PMCID: PMC1551921.

2. Holmes E, Tsang TM, Huang JTJ, Leweke FM, Koethe D. Metabolic profiling of CSF: Evidence that early intervention may impact on disease progression and outcome in schizophrenia. PLoS Med. 2006;3:e327. et al. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030327.

3. Meyer J, Koro CE, L'Italien GJ. The metabolic syndrome and schizophrenia: A review. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2005;17:173-180.

4. Hyde TM, Lewis SW. The secondary schizophrenias. In: Hirsch SR, Weinberger DR, editors. Schizophrenia. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing; 2003. 832 pp.

5. Hambidge DM. Detecting organic causes of first-episode psychosis. Prog Neurol Psychiatry. 2005;9:8-12.

6. Homelessness Is Not Just a Housing Problem The PLoS Medicine EditorsPLoS Med. 2008 December; 5(12): 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000003. Published online 2008 December 23. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000003. PMCID: PMC2605901.

7. Crisis. About homelessness. 2008. Available: http://www.crisis.org.uk/policywatch/pages/about_homelessness.html. Accessed 19 November 2008.

8. Shelter. What causes homelessness. 2008. Available: http://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_issues/homelessness/What_causes_homelessness#0. Accessed 19 November 2008.

9. Fazel S, Khosla V, Doll H, Geddes J. The prevalence of mental disorders among the homeless in Western countries: Systematic review and meta-regression analysis. PLoS Med. 2008;5:e225. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0050225.

10. Herrman H. Mental disorders among homeless people in Western countries. PLoS Med. 2008;5:e237. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0050237.

11. Marshall M, Sharpe M. Untreated schizophrenia in hostels for the homeless: A cause for concern. Psychiatr Bull. 1993;17:16-17.

12. Hwang SW. Mortality among men using homeless shelters in Toronto, Ontario. JAMA. 2000;283:2152-2157.

13. Cheung AM, Hwang SW. Risk of death among homeless women: A cohort study and review of the literature. CMAJ. 2004;170:1243-1247.

14.The Dopamine Hypothesis of Schizophrenia: Version III--The Final Common Pathway.

Howes OD, Kapur S.

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18. LARSEN K.E., FON E.A., HASTINGS T.G., EDWARDS R.H., SULZER D. Methamphetamine-induced degeneration of dopaminergic neurones involves autophagy and upregulation of dopamine synthesis. J. Neurosci. 2002;22:8951-8960.

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21. MARSDEN C.D. TARSY D. BALDESSARINI R.J.Spontaneous and drug-induced movement disorders in psychotic patients Psychiatric Aspects of Neurological Disease 1975. New York: Grune & Stratton. eds. Benson, D.R. & Blumer, D. p. 219.

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24. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1698919/advances_in_biological_psychiatric.html
25. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1680090/cuban_research_on_schizophrenia.html

26. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1680380/the_virus_theory_for_schizophrenia.html
27. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1676885/new_ideas_in_psychiatry.html

28. DELISI, L.E., GOLDIN, L.R., NURNBERGER, J.I., ET AL: Failure to Alleviate Symptoms of Schizophrenia with the Novel Use of an Antiviral Agent, Acyclovir (Zovirax). Biol. Psychiatry, 22(2); 216-20, 1987.