No, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) does not cause schizophrenia. MS is an autoimmune disorder that affects the central nervous system, while schizophrenia is a mental health disorder. However, some people with MS may experience similar symptoms to those of schizophrenia, such as confusion, hallucinations, and delusions.
There may be hereditary elements that predispose patients to developing not only MS or SCZ separately but also both diseases simultaneously, as both diseases can occur in the same family.
Psychotic symptoms reported in MS patients include hallucinations and delusions (mostly paranoid), irritability/agitation, sleep disturbance, grandiosity, blunted affect, and rare symptoms like catatonia and transient catalepsy [45].
Sometimes patients with organic brain lesions in neurologically silent brain areas might present only with psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, or cognitive dysfunction.
In patients with schizophrenia, MR imaging shows a smaller total brain volume and enlarged ventricles. Specific subcortical regions are affected, with reduced hippocampal and thalamic volumes, and an increase in the volume of the globus pallidus.
Can a brain scan show schizophrenia? It is not currently possible to determine that a person has schizophrenia simply by looking at a brain scan, but certain changes in the brain that can be observed on a brain scan have been associated with schizophrenia.
Schizoaffective disorder.
People with schizoaffective disorder have the same symptoms as people with schizophrenia. But they also have episodes of depression and times when they feel extremely happy or have lots of energy (mania). For more information, see the topics Depression and Bipolar Disorder.
Schizophrenia is typically diagnosed in the late teens years to early thirties, and tends to emerge earlier in males (late adolescence – early twenties) than females (early twenties – early thirties). More subtle changes in cognition and social relationships may precede the actual diagnosis, often by years.
Cognitive decline is recognized as a prevalent and debilitating symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS), especially deficits in episodic memory and processing speed.
MS can affect mood
worry, fear, moodiness, irritability and anxiety: normal in the face of unpredictability; anyone can become a bit irritable when faced with difficult challenges. depression is one of the most common symptoms of MS and a major risk factor for suicide.
The most common personality disorder in MS patients includes histrionic personality disorder while the most common problems among their parents included histrionic personality disorder and obsessive character traits.
Natalizumab targets the microglial cells in the central nervous system which are overactive in people with multiple sclerosis and now found also to be overactive in people in the early stages of schizophrenia.
“Individuals with schizophrenia have increased levels of antibodies to some but not all EBV proteins, indicating an aberrant response to EBV infection. This may contribute to the immunopathology of schizophrenia and related disorders,” they concluded.
Unfortunately, most people with schizophrenia are unaware that their symptoms are warning signs of a mental disorder. Their lives may be unraveling, yet they may believe that their experiences are normal. Or they may feel that they're blessed or cursed with special insights that others can't see.
Prodromal stage
This is the first stage of schizophrenia. It occurs before noticeable psychotic symptoms appear. During this stage, a person undergoes behavioral and cognitive changes that can, in time, progress to psychosis.
Anti-NMDAR encephalitis. This autoimmune disease causes swelling in the brain. That swelling can lead to behaviors and thought patterns that look like schizophrenia, such as paranoia and hallucinations. But most people with anti-NMDAR encephalitis have other symptoms such as seizures and suddenly passing out.
Only around two in three individuals with schizophrenia are diagnosed by a physician, likely due to misdiagnosis of the condition.
At least one of the symptoms must be delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech. In determining a diagnosis, the doctor may order additional tests, including an MRI scan or blood test.
Schizophrenia is associated with changes in the structure and functioning of a number of key brain systems, including prefrontal and medial temporal lobe regions involved in working memory and declarative memory, respectively.
Your doctor will do a physical exam. You might also need tests, sometimes including brain imaging techniques such as a CT scan or MRI of the brain. Generally, lab results and imaging studies are normal in people who have schizophrenia.
A schizophrenic episode can last days or weeks, and in rare cases, months, says Dr. D'Souza. Some people may experience only one or two schizophrenic episodes in their lifetime, whereas for others the episodes may come and go in phases.