Northwest Arkansas Schizophrenia Conference Examines Complex Issues Surrounding Mental Illness
| Hundreds of health care professionals, caregivers and family members of people with schizophrenia gathered at the Fayetteville Town Center on Jan. 30 to learn about the symptoms, misconceptions and treatment of the illness, as well as the experiences of the nearly 3 million American adults with schizophrenia.
The conference, hosted by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Psychiatric Research Institute, was the first of its kind in Northwest Arkansas and was dedicated to raising awareness about schizophrenia and the issues that accompany the mental illness.
Ryan Cork, MSHA, vice chancellor of the Northwest Arkansas Region, welcomed attendees to the conference.
“The Northwest Arkansas Schizophrenia Conference is a significant step forward for our region,” Cork said. “By bringing together leading experts, health care professionals and families, this event has the potential to transform how we address mental health challenges locally. It reinforces our commitment to building a stronger, more informed community and ensuring that Northwest Arkansas remains a leader in advancing mental health care and support.”
During the conference, leading experts discussed what is known about the disease and the latest medical advancements for its treatment, sharing the latest research and discoveries.
Brian Kirkpatrick, M.D., MSPH, of UAMS’ Psychiatric Research Institute, gave a presentation on the fundamentals of schizophrenia and cleared up several misconceptions about the disease and the people diagnosed with it. His “Schizophrenia 101” focused on the fundamentals of the disorder — symptoms like delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and catatonia —as well as issues that prevent patients from seeking treatment.
“Not everybody has all of these symptoms. The diagnosis is different for every person,” said Kirkpatrick. He explained that environmental factors like low birth weight, childhood abuse and adolescent marijuana use have all been found to be contributing factors to schizophrenia.
Despite what many think, people with schizophrenia can benefit from things other than medication, said Kirkpatrick, adding that many patients learn strategies to help control their symptoms. A combination of therapies and the involvement of the patient’s family and friends also can help people with schizophrenia manage their problems, he said.
“Ideally, the person with schizophrenia, that person’s loved ones and clinicians working together can help find the strategies that work best,” he said. “Most people with schizophrenia can have lives with meaning. There’s hope.”
Maybe the biggest misconception is that schizophrenia is all about dopamine, a brain chemical messenger that plays a role in functions such as movement and pleasure motivation, Kirkpatrick said.
Deanna Kelly, Pharm.D., the acting director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Psychiatric Research Center, discussed the evolution of schizophrenia medications, which she called the “cornerstones of treatment.”
The typical antipsychotic acts primarily through blocking dopamine, a neurotransmitter believed to be elevated in patients with schizophrenia, said Kelly.
“It’s a messenger to the brain, and we think that there may be too much dopamine in certain areas of the brain. That’s why we have to block it,” said Kelly, who pointed out that antipsychotics are good at reducing psychosis symptoms but their side effects — weight gain, low blood pressure and sedation — lead many patients to refuse to take the drugs.
A study of schizophrenia patients showed that only 28% of patients who experience side effects from their medications will report them to their physician, said Kelly.
Kelly said in developing new medications, scientists are moving away from dopamine antagonists, which are medications that block dopamine function in the brain. Such medications have been known to have many negative side effects, she said.
“There are a lot of medications in the pipeline right now that are shown to result in better side effects,” such as better cognitive function, she added.
The nation was in a drought for a while with schizophrenia medication, but that drought is over, Kelly said. The Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a new drug called Cobenfy in September, and it marked the first new approach to schizophrenia treatment in decades, she said.
There are also new technologies that are improving treatment for those with schizophrenia, such as the Athelas Home, an at-home diagnostic device that can monitor blood for people taking the medication clozapine.
William McFarlane, M.D., director of the PIER Training Institute of Portland, Maine, gave a presentation on schizophrenia and the family, saying that involving families is the best practice a team of professional caretakers can have.
“It’s not just the nice thing to do,” he said. “Engaging families as part of the team is a very powerful influence of this illness.”
Families can be the ones who observe and document symptoms, and noticing symptoms is critical to the treatment process, he said. Families and communities, when engaged and informed, can prevent the onset of schizophrenia, McFarlane said.
The latest successful treatment models are those where doctors work with families and solve problems as a group, he said. The key is being able to constantly adapt to the patient’s development and everyone’s comfort.
“When community supports a treatment model, it has more success,” he said.
The conference also included two roundtable discussions, one with mental health experts and another with Arkansans with family members who have been diagnosed with the disorder.
Finally, Kody Green, an influencer and activist with schizophrenia, spoke about his experience with his diagnosis paired with his struggle with addiction. As a person with schizophrenia, Green has made it his life’s vocation to spread awareness about the illness to help improve people’s lives.
Though there are initiatives to educate people about schizophrenia, he said there is a long way to go. The conversation about mental illness needs to stay alive for any positive changes to be made, especially in the legal system, he added.
Green said he used to cope with his hallucinations and delusions by using drugs, which resulted in him going to jail. He remembers being in solitary confinement and having to deal with being completely unmedicated and helpless, he said.
Though many families feel stuck in their inability to help loved ones with schizophrenia, whether that be because their relative with schizophrenia denies help or the legal system causes roadblocks, Green said keeping up the conversation and educational efforts will be what changes things for the better.
For those in Northwest Arkansas experiencing a first-episode psychosis, a new clinic has opened at the UAMS PRI location on Futrall Drive in Fayetteville. For more information or to make an appointment, please call the Odyssey Clinic today at 501-526-7464.