Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia usually involves delusions (false beliefs), hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that don't exist), unusual physical behavior, and disorganized thinking and speech. It is common for people with schizophrenia to have paranoid thoughts or hear voices.
Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic brain disorder that causes people to interpret reality abnormally—they don’t know what sights, sounds, and experiences are real or what they are imagining.
Millions of Americans suffer from schizophrenia, which usually starts between the ages of 16-30.1
The DSM-5-TR Diagnosis
for at least 1 month, the individual has at least two schizophrenia symptoms
for at least 1 month, one of those symptoms must be delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech
the symptoms cause significant problems with the individual’s work, social functioning, or ability to self-care
the symptoms do not indicate conditions such as schizoaffective disorder, depression, or bipolar disorder
the symptoms are not the direct result of drug use
the individual has some negative symptoms, such as a diminished emotional expression or lack of motivation
Substance-Induced Psychosis
Substance-induced psychosis happens when you experience episodes of psychosis, such as delusions or hallucinations, as a direct result of substance abuse. This can occur from taking too much of a certain drug, having an adverse reaction after mixing substances, during withdrawal from a drug, or if the individual has underlying mental health issues.
Amphetamine-Induced Psychosis
The symptoms of psychosis induced by amphetamines are very similar to those of acute schizophrenia spectrum psychosis and include: lack of concentration, delusions of persecution, increased motor activity, disorganization of thoughts, lack of insight, anxiety, suspicion and auditory hallucinations
Synthetic Cathinone Vs. Amphetamines
Synthetic cathinones are popularly referred to in the media as “bath salts.” Infamously, FLAKKA became a significant public health concern in 2014, impacting South Florida with numerous cases of Substance Induced Psychosis. Cathinone is structurally related to methcathinone, in much the same way as amphetamine is related to methamphetamine.
Cathinone differs from amphetamine by possessing a ketone oxygen atom (C=O) on the β (beta) position of the side chain.
Identification of Synthetic Cathinone Vs. Amphetamines
Two types of UDSs are typically used, immunoassay and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Immunoassays, which use antibodies to detect the presence of specific drugs or metabolites, are the most common method for the initial screening process.
Unfortunately, the majority of acute care settings do not regularly employee detection techniques which can routinely identify Synthetic Cathinones in a patients system. Hence, determining Synthetic Cathinone Induced Psychosis is extremely challenging.
A trained toxicologist/psychopharmacologist may play a key roll in identifying Substance-Induced Psychosis.
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