More facts about Schizophrenia

Statistically speaking, those afflicted with schizophrenia are no more dangerous than any other human beings.  Unfortunately, 10-13% of those afflicted wioth the illness commit suicide.(TOB)  Therefore, soome with schizophrenia can be a danger to themselves, but are not any more dangerous to others than anyone else is.  Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to people living with schizophrenia.  Most people live with schizophrenia, a lifelong illness, in relative isolation, as it is not talked about as other illness or diseases are.  Also, there is a lack of sympathy towards people with schizophrenia that is generally found in those, say, afflicted with cancer or even Muscular Dystrophy. 
The causes of schizophrenia are not clearly understood, as it erodes the perception of reality.  However, "Neuroscientists recently have learned much about this mental illness.  It has a strong hereditary component...This has encouraged researchers to look to genetics for the roots of the disease,a nd this research is yielding many fruitful leads.  Most of the genetic abnormalities suggest that this unbalanced mental state is the result of faulty signals and connections in the mind.  These problems can include deficits in certain neurotransmitters in the brain that process perception, fear, and memory, most notably dopamine and glutamate.  The problems also include imbalanced connections in brain circuits, which can be seen with functional brain imaging and by examining schizophrenic brains at autopsy.  Both of these lines of research have recently revealed an imbalance of another kind that has been previously overlooked: an imbalance in glia."(TOB)
There is a physical difference in the schizophrenic brain as compared to the normal brain.  There is often a decrease of mass shown in certain areas of the brain, and "enlargement in the fluid-filled cavities at the core of the brain."(TOB)  Much of this tissue loss is glial.
** Information has been compiled and quotes are from "The Other Brain", by R. Douglas Fields, Ph.D.**