Schizophrenia in media 2001

The list presents a selection of articles with schizophrenia association in media.

Box office success for "A Beautiful Mind" - split reviews (12/31/01)
The stigma of the Nobel prize laureate who recovered from schizophrenia (12/19/01)
The story about Margaret Holloway (12/16/01)
Differences in the genetic pattern in schizophrenics with different ethnic origin (12/14/01)
Racism, discrimination and schizophrenia (12/09/01)
Upcoming vote to outlaw disparities in insurance coverage (12/06/01)

Keeping the mentally ill off the streets (11/29/01)
USA: Many mentally ill lack proper treatment (11/26/01)
USA, North Carolina: New plan for mental health system (11/15/01)
USA: "Mentally ill cycle through system" (11/15/01)
Africa: Millions of Ugandans Mentally Sick (11/08/01)

What is schizophrenia? Experts answer some of the questions. (10/31/01)
Psychotherapy on the widescreen (10/29/01)

Mental Health in Japan (09/17/01)

NAMI announces Mental Illness Awareness Week (08/23/01)

Gene-test reveals useless medication (07/30/01)
New UK institute for mental health (07/10/01)
Prejudice against schizophrenics (07/09/01)
Survey reveals weaknesses in Canadian mental care (07/09/01)
Quality guaranty for nursing home (07/05/01)

Follow-up of nursing homes- the critique remains (06/26/01)
Bush proposes ban on "genetic discrimination" (06/25/01)
Danes want to make schizophrenic pigs (06/21/01)
Debate article: Absurd struggle to reduce cost of psychiatry" (06/19/01)
Children with mentally ill parents- invisible, but with great needs (06/14/01)
The painting "Strömkarlen" by Josephsson (06/11/01)
Russel Crowe plays a schizophrenic in coming movie (06/01/01)

Asphyxia at birth may cause schizophrenia (05/23/01)
"Prison prohibition for mentally ill criminals should be repealed" (05/10/01)
Hospital management reported itself after accident (05/08/01)
Incorrect to read a patients mail (05/08/01)
Psychiatrists evade criticized rules for short-term leave (05/08/01)
Psychiatric patient fooled the staff and run away(05/08/01)
Investigation of security at psychiatric clinics (05/08/01)
Individuals convicted to psychiatric care treated at wrong place (05/08/01)
Kids were treated with powerful psychiatric drugs (05/07/01)

New funding to schizophrenia project in Östergötland, Sweden (04/30/01)
Mentally ill need to be treated with respect (04/24/01)
Criminals among ordinary patients- criticized routines (18/04/01)
"DN Vetenskap" writes about schizophrenia (12/04/01)
Child- and youth psychiatry reviewed by newspaper (04/02/01)

Smaller food portions to mentally ill (03/20/01)
Criminals among ordinary patients in the psychiatric care (03/16/01)
Right to use electric shock therapy against schizophrenia? (03/07/01)
Documentary about schizophrenia (03/05/01)

Private nursing homes encounter severe criticism (02/14/01)
Sequence & analysis of the human genome- new hope for the ill (02/11/01)
NAMI applauds President Bush (02/05/01)
HUGO raises hope for schizophrenia research (02/02/01)
Alarming report from Russia (02/01/01)

Cats can cause schizophrenia (01/31/01)
"Four Sisters With Schizophrenia, Four Decades of Scrutiny" (01/31/01)
"Missing filter" clue to schizophrenia (01/31/01)

Box office success for "A Beautiful Mind" - split reviews (12/31/01)
Since its US premiere two weekends ago, the Ron Howard-directed movie "A Beautiful Mind" - in which Russel Crowe portraits schizophrenic Nobel Prize winner John Nash - has been a great success in the box office. The reviews however are somewhat split. Most of the concerns are related to how the movie script - written by Akiva Goldsman - differs from the award-winning biography - written by Sylvia Nasar - upon which it is based. While Nash himself chooses not to comment, and his wife defends the film, observers and friends mean the story has been changed so much that it in some instances hardly depicts Nash's life at all. Regardless, most reviewers give the movie top grades, and Crowe indeed does an impressive performance in his role as the schizophrenic genius John Nash.
Read article about the movie in the Charlotte Observer (12/26/01)
Read article about the movie in the Star Tribune (12/25/01)
More about Nash from Hubin
Official movie website
Literature tips from Hubin

The stigma of the Nobel prize laureate who recovered from schizophrenia (12/19/01)
John Nash is a mathematician who 1994 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics "for his pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games". That makes him part of a small and exclusive group of men and women- the Nobel Laureates. But professor Nash stands out also in this assembly- he has recovered from a 30-year period of schizophrenia. In a recent article, freelance medical writer Miriam Davis describes her impressions after meeting him during her time as a graduate student at Princeton. She also describes the discussions in the selection committee prior to the decision on the Nobel prize. But most of all, Davis shows us a mirror where we can see our own prejudices and she lets us know the effect of the stigma of mental diseases. She writes about her view on Nash "his appearance was so unsettling that I never said hello or bothered with a half-smile. I never wondered who he really was beneath the off-putting exterior, why he was there, whether he had a family, what his background was. I simply tried to steer clear."
Source: The Washington Post, December 18, 2001
Read the article at The Washington Post
Read about Nash´s Nobel prize
Read about an upcoming film on the life of Nash

The story about Margaret Holloway (12/16/01)
Margaret Holloway is a Yale-educated drama actress in New Haven, CT, whose bright career was ruined when she was struck by schizophrenia nearly 20 years ago. Since then, she has lived on the streets, performing scenes from classic drama on the sidewalks. She says the acting is her way of speaking out about her illness. Recently at a charity benefit, a film about this charismatic woman and her life premiered, and a feature film is also on its way.
Source: The Hartford Courant - AP, Sunday, December 16, 2001
Read more in article on The Hartford Courant online (12/16/01)

Differences in the genetic pattern in schizophrenics with different ethnic origin (12/14/01)
Scientists at the University of Washington have found that people with schizophrenia have different combinations of genes depending on their ethnic origins. Significant differences between patients with European-American and African-American backgrounds were found in a study where four chromosomes were examined, and the authors mean their findings further highlight the complexity of the disease.
Source: BBC Health News, Friday, December 10, 2001
Read more in article on BBC Health News (12/10/01)

Racism, discrimination and schizophrenia (12/09/01)
According to an article in BBC Health News "racism and discrimination may be contributory factors in the development of schizophrenia". Research conducted at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, shows an influence of social factors on mental illness. When studying people living in south London, the rate of schizophrenia differed between individuals living in ethnic minorities and those living in as part of a larger population. The suggested explanation is increased exposure to stress.
The Guardian has also written an article about this scientific investigation.
Source: BBC Health News and The Guardian, Friday, 7 December, 2001
Read the article at BBC Health News
Read the article in The Guardian

Upcoming vote to outlaw disparities in insurance coverage (12/06/01)
This week, a House-Senate conference committee will vote on a bill to outlaw disparities in coverage between mental and physical illnesses, an issue that HUBIN has reported on previously.
Media have taken interest in the upcoming vote, and reflected the life of families with a mentally ill member and also the struggle of individuals who want to make their voice heard in the debate. Below are two examples of articles on the subject.
Civil Rights for the Brain in Los Angeles Times. The article describes the situation of the Domenici family, where the family's resources is drained to cover the costs of a schizophrenic daughter´s hospitalization. The article also describes different views and arguments in the political discussion prior to the vote.
Former First Lady Boosts Mental Health Parity Bill at Reuters. The article describes the struggle of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who would like to see the same benefits for mental illness as they for other ailments.
Read previous text on the HUBIN website

Keeping the Mentally Ill Off the Streets (11/29/01)
The Los Angeles Times has had a series of articles on the theme: "Keeping the Mentally Ill Off the Streets".
Source: The Los Angeles Times, November 18-21
Fix the "Pickle Factory" (November 18)
Lost, Then Found (November 19)
Sheriff Social Worker (November 20)
Menu Item: Climbing Back (November 21)

USA: Many mentally ill lack proper treatment (11/26/01)
The life of Leon, a man who started a journey towards mental illness and periods in jail at the age of 14, is described in a Washington Post article. Like Leon, many are in need of mental care, but go in and out of jail instead. "I needed mental health counseling. But I was lost in the system," Leon says. Beside Leon, others are portrayed in the article, for example Anne and Jesse. The all have one thing in common: lack of proper treatment have resulted in periods in jail. The director of a nonprofit treatment center blames poor results on the lack of resources and appropriate treatment. According to her "America's jails and prisons are now surrogate psychiatric hospitals."
Source: Washington Post Sunday November 25
Read the article

USA, North Carolina: New plan for mental health system (11/15/01)
According to the News Observer, North Carolina soon will announce details of a new plan for the public mental health system. The initiaive is welcome, since the state mental health programs are crowded. Influencial politicians are engaged in process, and pushing for substantial changes.
Source: the News Observer
Read the article

USA: "Mentally ill cycle through system" (11/15/01)
In an article the San Franciso Chronicle describes the hard life of Buford George. He is a middleaged diagnosed schizophrenic who has been in and out of jail, prison and mental institutions for the past twenty years. With George as a living example, the difficult situation for the mentally ill is described.
Source: The San Franciso Chronicle, November 4, 2001
Read the article

Africa: Millions of Ugandans Mentally Sick (11/08/01)
People in Uganda have now increased the contact with the health care due to mental health problems. Recently, there has been a sharp rise in the number of admissions and mental cases at Butabika Mental Hospital. War, psychosocial stress and poverty are considered to be important factors underlying the increase in mental disorders and nervous breakdowns.
Source: allAfrica.com Posted to the web November 4, 2001
Read the article

What is schizophrenia? Experts answer some of the questions about the disease. (10/31/01)
What is schizophrenia? It's a worldwide phenomenon, and in the United States alone, 2.5 million people suffer from the disease. But we still don't know what exact mechanisms that cause this devastating disorder. In an article on ABCNews.com, two experts try to answer some of the questions.
Read the article on ABCNews.com (10/24/01)

Psychotherapy on the widescreen (10/29/01)
Over 17 million Americans went to the movies last weekend to watch "K-PAX", starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Bridges, during the movie's opening weekend. Just like in two other movies, "Don't Say a Word", which opened the last weekend of September, and "Donnie Darko", which opens next weekend, one of the central characters is a psychotherapist. The question is, how authentic are the portraits of psychiatrists and patients? Both "K-PAX" and "Don't Say a Word" used psychiatric consultants in the making of the movies, but still, does this mean that patients and poeple working with mental care will find the scenes convincing?
Read article on LA Times online (10/24/01)

Mental Health in Japan (09/17/01)
Japan has the highest number of hospital patients with mental illness in the world, according to a recently published article in The Japan Times. In a two-part series journalist Hiroshi Matsubara explores the state of the mental health and its treatment in Japan today. The picture is rather dreary, for example the author claims that the average stay at mental institutions is also the longest in the world. There are also problems outside the hospitals; "...the number of people hospitalized for mental illnesses has yet to decline much, due partly to the lack of sufficient welfare facilities, such as sheltered work sites and group homes, which enable psychiatric patients to live outside institutions."
Source: The Japan Times, September 12 and 13
Read "Psychiatric Care Still Mired in Dark Ages"
Read "Programs for Mentally Ill Out of Hospitals Fall Short"

NAMI announces Mental Illness Awareness Week (08/23/01)
Between October 7 and 13, 2001, NAMI presents this year's Mental Illness Awareness Week. This is an excellent opportunity for the public to get more information about mental illness. More information about the event, which has the theme "United By Hope, Working For Change" is fully available online for the second year in a row.
More info about Mental Awareness Week from NAMI

Gene-test reveals useless medication (07/30/01)
The Swedish newspaper "Svenska Dagbladet" has written about the gene technology company deCode genetics which has developed a new system for illustrating which genes that determines how an individual reacts to a specific drug. Hákon Hákonarson at deCode told his colleagues about the method at a recent immunology conference in Stockholm.
Source: Svenska Dagbladet 07/23/01
Read about the 11th International Congress of Immunology
read more about deCode genetics

New UK institute for mental health (07/10/01)
The British government said on Monday that a new institute will be established to improve mental health research and treatment in England. The National Institute of Mental Health will coordinate research, set up clinical trials, and generally work towards improving the care of, and service and prospects for people with mental illness.
Source: Yahoo! - Reuters (07/09/01)

Prejudice against schizophrenics (07/09/01)
A Greek study shows that the country is in the lead when it comes to societies with negative perceptions of schizophrenia, in comparison with other countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria and Canada. One in three Greeks could "not tolerate" living in the same neighborhood with schizophrenics, mainly because of the perception that almost all schizophrenics are aggressive and violent individuals.
Source: Kathimerini - Greece's International English Language Newspaper (06/29/01)

Survey reveals weaknesses in Canadian mental care (07/09/01)
A national survey in Canada has found worrying tendencies in the country's mental care system. More than two thirds of people with schizophrenia feel they are discriminated in several facets of their lives, and 16 percent say they lack social acceptance from friends and family members. Inadequate care is another issue. Despite improved medications, many patients are still in need of hospitalization. However, it is not unusual that they are denied hospital care, and instead need to be taken care of by their families. The psychiatrists that were questioned in the survey also said they experienced difficulties. One of the problems is that with patients who refuse to take their medications. Other obstacles are the administrative barriers that exist, and that prevents physiscians to prescribe the drugs they want, and when they want.
Article on Canada NewsWire website (06/21/01)

Quality guaranty for nursing home (07/05/01)
The private nursing home Kvarngården in the Swedish city Hörby is focused on care, rehabilitation and support for mentally ill patients. As one of the first nursing homes in Sweden. Kvarngården has now obtained an ISO-certification. According to the management, everything from kitchen work to nursing has been quality secured. The aim of this procedure is to make the nursing home more safe both for the staff and for the patients.
Read the article in Sydsvenska Dagbladet (only in Swedish )

Follow-up of nursing homes- the critique remains (06/26/01)
Earlier this spring Hubin reported on severe criticism for some private nursing homes in the psychiatry sector (see link below). The National Board of Health and Welfare has made recent follow-up visits to four private nursing homes in the Kalmar area of Sweden. For two of the homes, the critique remains.
Read earlier text: Private nursing homes encounter severe criticism

Bush proposes ban on genetic discrimination (06/25/01)
US President George W. Bush on Saturday proposed forbidding employers, insurance companies and others from denying jobs or health coverage to people based on their genetic makeup. Genetic differences have been linked to over 4000 diseases, including cystic fibrosis, cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, schizophrenia, and heart disease.
Source: Yahoo! - Reuters (06/23/01)

Danes want to make schizophrenic pigs (06/21/01)
Schizophrenic pigs? Yes, at least if scientists at a psychiatric unit at Bispebjerg Hospital in Denmark gets it their way. They mean pigs' brains are big enough to give appropriate results on brain scans. They also say pigs have a well developed social hierarchy, which it is thought to be very helpful, since schizophrenics often have problems with their social behaviour. They hope the experiments with the schizophrenic pigs will help them understand how schizophrenia works in humans, so they can develop methods to prevent the disease.
Read the article at Ananova's website (06/01/01)

Debate article: "Absurd struggle to reduce cost of psychiatry" (06/19/01)

Senior physician Sigmund Soback has written a debate article in the Swedish journal "Dagens Medicin" stating that the suppliers of psychiatryc care systematically in trying to reduce the cost of treatment. According to Soback this is a short-term strategy; only at short term outpatient treatment is cheaper than institutional care and medication cheaper than psychotherapy. Soback considers the consequences of the cost-reducung strategy to be absurd.
Source: Dagens Medicin nr 25-33/01.

Children with mentally ill parents- invisible, but with great needs (06/14/01)
Picture: "Site Avec Trois Personnages" by Jean Dubuffet.
The National Board of Health and Welfare has recently published documentation from the conference "The invisible children". The pediatician Salomon Schulman now writes in the "Läkartidningen" about children with mentally ill parents. Few people know how difficult life can be for these children. Most of the time, the children stand along without anybody to talk to about their absurd experiences. The report from The National Board of Health and Welfare shows that these children are more numerous than previously expected.
Källa: Läkartidningen (article by Schulman) and the National Board of Health and Welfare (Documentation of the conferense The invisible children, Oktober12–13, 2000. Article number: 2001-123-10).
Read the article at the Läkartidningen website
Read the report at the National Board of Health and Welfare website

The painting "Strömkarlen" by Josephsson at the Nationalmuséum (06/11/01)
The artist Ernst Josephsson lived at about the turn of the last century. During part of his life, he was treated for paranoia, a diagnosis which today would correspond to schizophrenia.
One of Josephsson´s most famous artwork is the painting "Strömkarlen", which initially was mocked and ridiculed by the critics. It was, however, appreciated by Prince Eugene who bought it and showed it at Waldemarsudde.
In October, the Nationalmuséum will have a retrospective exhibition of the artwork of Ernst Josephsson. One of the most well known items will be the "Strömkarlen".
Source: Metro (06/11/01
Read more about Ernst Josephsson

Russel Crowe plays a schizophrenic in coming movie (06/01/01)
The receiver of the prize for best male actor in 2001 - New Zealander Russel Crowe - is currently filming a new movie. Crowe's character in the movie is a schizophrenic genious with paranoid tendencies. The title of the movie is "A Beautiful Mind".
Read article at Ananova's website (05/30/01)
Actor profile for Russell Crowe at eonline

Asphyxia at birth may cause schizophrenia (05/23/01)
Early risk factors for schizophrenia are investigated in a new doctoral dissertation at Gothenburg University. DN Science has made an interview with the psychiatrist Christina Dalman.
Read more about the dissertation
Read the interview at DN website (in Swedish)

"Prison prohibition for mentally ill criminals should be repealed" (05/10/01)
In the future the penalty for mentally ill criminals can be served both as a treatment and as a prison sentence. When the criminal has recovered from illness, he or she can be moved to prison. These are the main features, agreed upon in a committee set up by the Swedish government, according to Svenska Dagbladet.
The committee, led by the head of the Swedish Police, will complete its work by the end of year 2001. So far, the members of the committee discuss a proposal. Two things are principally important in the discussed proposal. First, criminals can always be judged to serve a prison sentence. Second, psychiatrists (not lawyers) will decide if the criminal should be sentenced to prison or to forensic psychiatry.
The committee runs a website, where the assignment and directives are presented. Persons participating in the committee are also listed.
Source: Svenska dagbladet. Publicerad 010510
Svenska Dagbladet website (general, not this specific article)
The website of the committee

Hospital management reported itself after accident (05/08/01)
The management of S:t Sigfrid hospital in Växjö, Sweden, reported itself to the National Board of Health and Welfare after the accident last Sunday. The 26-year old patient, who hurt a girl with and ax, was not treated at the most safe hospital department even though it was well-known that his condition had become worse.
Source: Göteborgsposten. Published 05/08/01

Incorrect to read a patients mail (05/08/01)
The hospital staff at an institution read the mail belonging to a patient who was hospitalized and committed to forensic psychiatric care. The patient reported the incidence to the National Board of Health and Welfare. The authorities have now decided that the patient is right, and that the staff not is allowed to see his mail.
Source: Göteborgsposten. Published 05/08/01

Psychiatrists evade criticized rules for short-term leave (05/08/01)
A change in the laws which have implemented a more strict view on short-term leave from hospitals is criticized by psychiatrists. It has resulted in a situation were patients are move to regions where the courts have a more liberal interpretation of the law.
Kenth Persson, senior psychiatrist at Karsudden hospital outside Katrineholm, Sweden, says that political correct actions not always correspond to real life. - Patients need short time for treatment at a hospital, but long time for follow-up when living in society. However, today the intention from legislators and politicians is directly opposite, according to Persson.
Source: Göteborgsposten. Published 05/08/01

Psychiatric patient fooled the staff and run away(05/08/01)
Last fall a severely ill patient who was hospitalized and committed to forensic psychiatric care at Norrland University hospital managed to escape from a clinic by fooling the staff that she was a visitor. The woman could not take care of herself, but opposed treatment. The National Board of Health and Welfare now criticizes the clinic.
The manager of the clinic states that a psychiatric clinic not is a prison, and things like this may occasionally happen. In the future the identity of all visitors will however be controlled before they are let out. He continues: - I do not like the concept of having to ask everyone who they are in an environment which strives to be positive and friendly.
Source: Västerbottenskuriren. Published 05/08/01
Read more at Västerbottenkuriren website

Investigation of security at psychiatric clinics (05/08/01)
The National Board of Health and Welfare wants to investigate the routines and security at the forensic psychiatric clinics, according to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. During Sunday night, a 26-year psychotic man escaped from the S:t Sigfrid hospital in Växjö, Sweden. He later attacked a six-year old girl and hit her head with an ax. - What has happened needs to be investigated by local authorities, but my general opinion is that the demands need to be high and all risks must be considered before a patient should be allowed to short-term leave from the hospital, says Lennart Rinder at the National Board of Health and Welfare. The girl has now left the intensive care, but is still treated at the hospital in Ljungby. The hospital states that she is well, according to the circumstances.
The article in Dagens Nyheter also presents a list over events at S:t Sigfrid´s hospital the last years; events that have caused debate in society
Source: Dagens Nyheter. Published 05/08/01
Read the article at Dagens Nyheter website ( only in Swedish)

Individuals convicted to psychiatric care are treated at the wrong place (05/08/01)
The Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet writes about the complex of problems associated with treating individuals convicted to psychiatric care in the "ordinary psychiatric care". The general public is exposed to increased risk when this group of patients are treated in the wrong place, according to forensic psychiatrist in the article. HUBIN has previously reported on the situation in Uppsala, and the debate it has caused.
Erik Söderberg, responsible senior physician at a forensic psychiatry clinic outside Sundsvall, Sweden, makes a comment in the article. According to his opinion, patients convicted to psychiatric care should be treated at special units. Gunnar Kullgren, professor of forensic psychiatry at Umeå University, is also interviewed. According to Kullgren, the problems can partly be explained by the facts that many decisions are made by psychiatrist who lack specialist competence in forensic psychiatry. This may lead to a situation where decisions are made one vague reasons.
Source: Svenska dagbladet. Published 05/08/01
Svenska Dagbladet website (general, not this specific article)
Read about forensic psychiatry at the National Board of Forensic Medicine
Read more Criminals among ordinary patients- criticized routines
Read more Criminals among ordinary patients in the psychiatric care

Kids were treated with powerful psychiatric drugs (05/07/01)
Advocates in Florida are alarmed by a current report that 600 Florida Medicaid recepients under age 6 last year were given powerful psychiatric drugs with potentially serious side effects. These drugs, who include Clozaril, Zyprexa and Risperdal, are normally given to adult patients suffering from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders - diseases that are virtually nonexistent among children under age 6. The reason the Florida kids were treated with these drugs was their unruly behaviour.
Source: The Miami Herald 05/07/01

New funding to schizophrenia project in Östergötland (04/30/01)
"Intresseföreningen för schizofreni; IFS (a schizophrenia support organization) in East Östergötland, Sweden, has been granted 440 000 SEK from the "Allmänna Arvsfonden". The grant will be used for a Activity House, according to the Swedish newspaper Östgöta Correspondenten. The aim of the project is to develop different activities to break isolation, train social competence and provide opportunities for the visitors to grow in their own pace. The activities will give opportunities for an effective rehabilitation, with the log term goal of returning to the open labor market. To accomplish this, the Fountain House model is used.
Source: Östgöta Correspondenten. Published: 27/04/01

Mentally ill need to be treated with respect (04/24/01)
In an article in The Irish Times, reporter Elaine Edwards brings up the problem with mentally illness in our society. How the bare presence of mentally ill people upsets the general public, and how the lack of understanding among these people in turn upsets those who care for the mentally ill.
Read article in The Irish Times (04/14/01)
Related literature tip from HUBIN

Criminals among ordinary patients- criticized routines (04/18/01)
The county council in Uppsala continues to mix convicted criminals with other mentally ill patients. This procedure is now strongly criticized by local politicians. A question at issue is how dangerous the criminals may be to other patients.
Source: Uppsala Nya Tidning (UNT) 010418
Read previous news item at the HUBIN:s web site

"DN Vetenskap" writes about schizophrenia (04/12/01)
The Swedish newspaper DN writes about a scientific article published in the American journal PNAS. The article in PNAS is written by the Swedish researcher Håkan Karlsson, who now works at the Karolinska Institutet. He was previously a guest researcher at John Hopkins School of Medicine, where he studied if viruses may be involved in the ethiology of schizophrenia. According to Karlsson and his coworkers, there seem to be an interaction between some types of schizophrenia and a special virus, called retrovirus. In an interview by DN, Karlsson says that the virus is not contagious. Instead, something already present in the DNA my be activated.
Some facts on the disease schiophrenia is also presented in the article by DN.
Read the article in DN ( only in Swedish)
Read more about the article in PNAS

Child- and youth psychiatry reviewed by newspaper (04/02/01)
The Swedish newspaper "Dagens Nyheter" (DN) has opened a series of articles on "The children and psychiatry". DN has brought forth statistics and made analyses. Reporters have also met young individuals in need of help and support, caregivers, persons in authority and politicians.
The investigations by the newspapers reveals that 36.500 patients asked for help from the child- and youth psychiatry during year 2000. The number of young patients has doubled in ten years. The queues are growing and in some extreme cases children have to wait for two years to get help.
Source: Dagens Nyheter 03/31/01 and 04/01/01
See the Swedish version for links to a number of articles in Swedish

Smaller food portions to mentally ill (03/20/01)
The county council in Uppsala has reduced the food to mentally ill patients, according to Uppsala Nya Tidning. The size of the portions has been reduced by 30% since the turn of the year. The management of the Psychiatric Center however states that patients who need more food are are allowed to order double portions. The nursing ward then has to pay for the increased cost.
Source: Uppsala Nya Tidning (UNT) 03/20/01
Read more in UNT (general, not this specific article. Only in Swedish )

Criminals among ordinary patients in the psychiatric care (03/16/01)
"Psykiatricentrum" in the Ulleråker area in Uppsala will not build any new department at "Tallåsen". Tallåsen is an institution where criminals, convicted to psychiatric care, are treated. Therefore, the problem of treating both criminals and ordinary patients at the same institution remains.
Source: Uppsala Nya Tidning (UNT) 03/12/01

Right to use electric shock therapy against schizophrenia? (03/07/01)
Is it ethnically defendable to use electric shock therapy - against the patient's own will - in the treatment of schizophrenia? That question is currently treated in an American court case. Paul Henri Thomas, a former Haitian human rights activist, has been a patient at Pilgrim Psychiatric Center in Central Islip, NY, for the past 22 months. During this time he has received electric shock therapy on between 30 and 50 occasions. Thomas, who is now an American citizen, was previously diagnosed with "schizophrenic affective disorder", but considers that he is no longer in need of treatment. He has therefore brought the issue to court. The biggest argument from the defence is that is it doubtful if Thomas is healthy enough to make a judgement regarding his own condition.
Source: Newsday.com 010303

Private nursing homes encounter severe criticism (02/14/01)
Seven private nursing homes for mentally ill individuals, many suffering from severe disturbances such as schizophrenia and psychosis, have been examined by the National Board of Health and Welfare. The examination has revealed serious shortcomings, e.g. documentation is often missing, as well as a plan for nursing and treatment and aims for the activities. The authorities also found lack in professional competencs among the staff, and long intervals between each consultation with a psychatrist for the patients. The nursing homes were also criticized for derogatory comments in the case records, unclear responsibilities among the staff and shortcomings in mediation and handling of drugs. In the article, the responsible managers for some of the nursing homes comment on the criticism.
Source: Dagens Medicin nr 7/01.

Sequence and analysis of the human genome- new hope for the ill (02/11/01)
The Swedish newspaper "Dagens Nyheter" writes about the the publication of the initial sequencing and analysis of the human genome. The result of ten years of research, is published on Monday, February 12th. The results from the HUGO-project, financed by public research funding, and the private company "Celera" is published simultaneously at the Internet by two of the world´s leading scientific magazines; Science and Nature.
Source: Dagens Nyheter (web-version) (02/11/01)
Read the article in Dagens Nyheter ( only in Swedish)
Read the publication in Science
Read the publication in Nature

NAMI applauds President Bush (02/05/01)
The bigggest support organization for schizophrenia in the United States, NAMI - National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, now applauds President George W. Bush for now renewing his committment to the promises concerning mental illness policies he made during his election campaign last year. The other day The President signed a number of executive orders, which all serve to improve the conditions for all those in the United States who are affected by mental illness.
Source: www.nami.org (02/02/01)
Read the article on the official NAMI:s homepage

HUGO raises hope for schizophrenia research (02/02/01)
On January 19 NY Times online published a report from the news agency Reuters, where the questions the director of the Human Genome Project, Doctor Francis Collins, addressed at a conference on ethical and social questions in genetics recently, were concluded.
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Alarming report from Russia (02/01/01)
The Russian health ministry now releases reports on the worrying situation in psychiatric care. Since the collapse of of the Soviet Union in the beginning of the nineties the number of registered cases of persons with psychiatric disese has increased for every year, and it is now estimated that more than one third of the population suffers from some form of psychiatric disease, which is considerably higher than for instance the average in the Western world. The major problem is of course the bad economy, and that the resources are not sufficient to help everybody who seeks help. The general political rearrangements and changes in the country's infrastructure are also thought to have caused an explosion in psychiatric diseases that were not previously known, or in many cases perhaps held secret to the public.
Källa: www.chicagotribune.com (02/01/01)

Cats can cause schizophrenia (01/31/01)
A somewhat unususal article related to schizophrena was recently published in National Post online. According to scientists at John Hopkins University i Baltimore and Stanley Foundation Research Programs in Bethesda, both in Maryland, US, diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and manic depressive illness may be caused by cats (!). It is the infective agents - primarily a parasite called toxoplasma gondii - which are present in the cat feces and sometimes are spread to humans, that would be responsible for the induction of these diseases.
Published at National Post online (01/25/01)

"Four Sisters With Schizophrenia, Four Decades of Scrutiny" (01/31/01)
This article tells the story about four sisters - and quadruplets - in an American midsize town. They all have the same genetic setup, all of them have developed schizophrenia, still there lives differ markedly. Four living proofs that both inheritance and environment play a role in an individual's development.
Published at WebMD.com (10/10/00)
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"Missing filter" clue to schizophrenia (01/31/01)
An article at BBC discusses changes in thalamus as one of the causes ti schizophrenia. Thalamus is an area of the brain that can be compared to a switchboard which filters and forwards information to different parts of the brain.
Published at the BBC website 01/01/01.
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Swedish media
More publications from Swedish newspapers and media are available
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Schizophrenia in media 2004
Schizophrenia in media 2003
Schizophrenia in media 2002