MEET ELLA

&

OLIVIA

Ella’s Story

• 2002 – Adopted by a mixed race couple

-African Canadian & Caucasian

• Were 5 years old when their parents divorced
• Ella is in 1^st year university
• She is going home for a visit
• Ella is concerned for her sister’s health
• She wonders if she will develop the same issues

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The Philosophy of Photography

Olivia’s Story

• Quit her job
• Withdrawn and unmotivated
• Decided not to attend university with her sister
• Hallucinations
• Couldn’t carry on a coherent conversation

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Olivia’s Diagnosis

Olivia was diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Classified as a psychotic disorder.

An abnormal state of consciousness.

The higher functions of the mind are disrupted.

Some combination of a person’s perceptions, thought processes, beliefs, and emotions become disconnected from reality.

Symptoms may come and go.

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Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Positive symptoms are those that are present in someone with schizophrenia that someone without schizophrenia or another mental health condition would not experience.

Delusions:

• False beliefs that don’t make sense in context to a person’s culture. Obsessive quality.

Hallucinations:

• False sensory experiences that have no basis in the external world. Fully awake and not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. (auditory, visual, tactile).

Disorganized speech:

• Words are linked together based on sound, rhyme, puns, or free association.

Disorganized behaviour:

• Not goal-directed. Laughing inappropriately. Adopting strange postures or freezing (catatonic behaviours).

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Negative Symptoms of Schizophrenia

The person is experiencing an absence or reduction of certain traits that are often present in healthier individuals.

Feels like something is being taken away or disappearing.

• Flattened affect
• Anhedonia
• Reduced speech
• Lack of initiative

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Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Cognitive symptoms are not used to diagnose schizophrenia.

• Difficulty maintaining attention
• Memory problems
• Difficulty planning and structuring activities
• Lack of insight

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Dopaminergic Pathways: Outline

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• Mesolimbic pathway (positive symptoms)
• Mesocortical pathway (negative symptoms)
• Nigrostriatal pathway

(extrapyramidal symptoms & tardive dyskinesia)

• Tuberoinfundibular pathway (hyperprolactinemia)

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Treatment & Self-Help

Tip 1: Get involved in treatment & self-help

Accept your diagnosis

Don’t buy into the stigma of schizophrenia

Communicate with your doctor

Pursue self-help & therapy that helps you manage your symptoms

Set and work toward life goals

Tip 3: Seek fact-to-face support

Turn to trusted friends & family

Stay involved with others

Meet new people

Find a supportive living environment

Take advantage of support services

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Tip 2: Get active

Aim for 30 minutes per day

Rhythmic exercise that uses both arms and legs

Focus on how your body feels as you move

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Treatment & Self-Help con’t

Tip 4: Manage Stress

Know your limits

Use relaxation techniques

Manage your emotions

Tip 6: Understand the role of medication

Medication is not a cure

Only treats some of the symptoms

Don’t put up with disabling side effects

Tip 5: Take care of yourself

Get plenty of sleep

Avoid alcohol & drugs

Eat healthy, balanced diet

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What is Epigenetics?

Genes play an important role in your health.

So do your behaviours and environment

The study of how your behaviours and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work.

Epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change your DNA sequence.

They change how your body reads a DNA sequence.

Gene expression refers to how often or when proteins are created from the instructions within your genes. 

While genetic changes can alter which protein is made, epigenetic changes affect gene expression to turn genes “on” and “off.”

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https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm

Libertarian Girl

How Does Epigenetics Work?

Epigenetic changes affect gene expression in different ways. Types of epigenetic changes include:

DNA Methylation

DNA methylation works by adding a chemical group to DNA. Typically, this group is added to specific places on the DNA, where it blocks the proteins that attach to DNA to “read” the gene. This chemical group can be removed through a process called demethylation. Typically, methylation turns genes “off” and demethylation turns genes “on.”

Histone modification

DNA wraps around proteins called histones. DNA wrapped tightly around histones cannot be accessed by proteins that “read” the gene. Some genes are wrapped around histones and are turned “off” while some genes are not wrapped around histones and are turned “on.” Chemical groups can be added or removed from histones and change whether a gene is unwrapped or wrapped (“on” or “off”).

Non-coding RNA

Your DNA is used as instructions for making coding and non-coding RNA. Coding RNA is used to make proteins. Non-coding RNA helps control gene expression by attaching to coding RNA, along with certain proteins, to break down the coding RNA so that it cannot be used to make proteins. Non-coding RNA may also recruit proteins to modify histones to turn genes “on” or “off.”

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https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm

How Can Epigenetics Change?

Your epigenetics change as you age, both as part of normal development and aging and in response to your behaviours and environment.

1. Epigenetics and Development�Epigenetic changes begin before you are born. All your cells have the same genes but look and act differently. As you grow and develop, epigenetics helps determine which function a cell will have, for example, whether it will become a heart cell, nerve cell, or skin cell.
2. Epigenetics and Age�Your epigenetics change throughout your life. Your epigenetics at birth is not the same as your epigenetics during childhood or adulthood.
3. Epigenetics and Reversibility�Not all epigenetic changes are permanent. Some epigenetic changes can be added or removed in response to changes in behavior or environment.

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https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm

Epigenetics & Health

Epigenetic changes can affect your health in different ways:

1. Infections�Germs can change your epigenetics to weaken your immune system. This helps the germ survive.
2. Cancer�Certain mutations make you more likely to develop cancer. Likewise, some epigenetic changes increase your cancer risk. Epigenetics can be used to help determine which type of cancer a person has or can help to find hard to detect cancers earlier. Epigenetics alone cannot diagnose cancer, and cancers would need to be confirmed with further screening tests.
3. Nutrition During Pregnancy�A pregnant woman’s environment and behavior during pregnancy, such as whether she eats healthy food, can change the baby’s epigenetics. Some of these changes can remain for decades and might make the child more likely to get certain diseases.

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https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm

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