About two-percent of Americans have some type of psychotic illness. These disorders cost the U.S. about $23 billion a year. The majority of patients who are treated will experience a relapse. But now, a new app may help doctors identify patients before they hit rock bottom.
The 20-year-old we'll call "Isaac" was diagnosed with schizophrenia a year ago. "It terrified me. I didn't know if I could talk to any of my friends about it," "Isaac" told Ivanhoe.
"Isaac" suffered hallucinations and heard voices in his head.
"Isaac" said, "When I heard the first voice that started talking to me was my scariest moment when I realized, oh, this is something that I can't just cope with and white knuckle. This is something that I need to really get help with."
He did get help with medication and therapy, and recently "Isaac" was also introduced to this new app. Ginger IO, is designed to monitor patients with psychosis.
"To see if we can intervene earlier before they have a relapse or before things get worse," Tara Niendam, PhD, Clinical Psychologist of UC Davis School of Medicine told Ivanhoe.
Nearly 80-percent of psychosis patients will relapse within the first five years of diagnosis.
Clinical psychologist Tara Niendam says the new app collects data about the number of texts and phone calls they make and receive and where they travel in a day.
"Whether a person is getting up and getting out of the house and going places," explained Niendam.
Doctors can track patient's patterns on a "dashboard" and see how they are doing daily and can contact patients at the first sign of trouble. "Isaac" says it's helped him stay on track.
"They really helped give me a sense of positivity," "Isaac" explained.
He's using his music as therapy and facing his illness one day at a time.
The researchers at UC Davis are conducting a pilot study to see if the app can prevent relapses. They will also test the effectiveness of the app over 12 months in as many as 120 patients.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Hitchcock, Field Producer; Cortni Spearman, News Assistant; Rusty Reed, Videographer and Jamie Koczan, Editor.
BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that occurs in 1% of the general population. Those who suffer from schizophrenia will often hear voices others do not hear, they may believe other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts or wanting to harm them. Because of this constant paranoia, people who suffer from schizophrenia may sit for hours without talking or moving, they may have difficulty keeping a job, caring for themselves, and seem withdrawn or agitated majority of the time. Schizophrenia is speculated to have many causes but the direct causes of schizophrenia are still unknown. Ten-percent of people who have a first-degree relative with the disorder, develop schizophrenia. Researchers believe that genes passed down from our parents are associated with an increased risk of the illness. Scientists also believe that people with schizophrenia tend to have higher rates of rare genetic mutations and that the development of the illness may be a result of a malfunction of a certain gene that is key in making brain chemicals. Scientists think that interactions between genes and the environment aid in the development of schizophrenia as well.
(Source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml)
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: Schizophrenia equally affects both men and women and all ethnic groups around the world. Men tend to experience symptoms earlier than women do. Symptoms of the illness usually begin between the ages of 16 and 30 years old and there can be many signs. The illness rarely occurs in children but cases of early onset schizophrenia are increasing. Because schizophrenia symptoms usually occur in teenagers, it can be difficult to diagnose. Some first signs may include a change of friends, a drop in grades, sleep problems, and irritability. These are all common behavior that a typical teenager exudes. But, if these behaviors are in combination with factors such as isolating oneself, withdrawing from others, an increase in unusual thoughts and suspicions, and a family history of psychosis; a diagnosis of schizophrenia can be predicted in up to 80-percent of those youth. Other symptoms include a loss of touch with reality, hallucinations, delusions, thought and movement disorders, and trouble focusing or paying attention.
(Source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/index.shtml)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Because the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, treatments for the disease focus on eliminating the symptoms. Traditional treatments include medication and various psychosocial treatments, but an app is now on the horizon. Ginger IO is an app that enables those suffering from schizophrenia to actively record their symptoms on a daily and weekly basis, while information on their movements and daily social contacts is gathered. The app allows providers the ability to intervene early in the hope of preventing a relapse. The app can be downloaded onto any smart phone and clients who do not own web-enabled phones will receive one through a partnership with T-Mobile.
(Source: UC Davis Press Release)
* For More Information, Contact:
Tara Niendam
Assistant Professor in Psychiatry
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