From: deputydog23x@gmail.com   
      
   Alternative Mental Health   
      
      
   Twenty-Nine Medical Causes of "Schizophrenia"   
      
   Excerpted from Nutrition and Mental Illness   
      
   by the late Carl C. Pfeiffer, Ph.D., M.D.   
      
   Internationally renowned pioneer in the treatment of mental disturbances   
   through nutrition.   
      
   (Our grateful acknowledgement to the Princeton Bio Brain Center for permission   
   to reprint. Following Dr. Pfeiffer's text are sections added by the editor to   
   define and explain each disorder.)   
      
   The term "schizophrenia" is an inadequate and misleading diagnosis.   
   "Disperceptions of unknown cause" is a better term.   
      
   If we include fevers, environmental pains, and drug reactions, there must be a   
   hundred ways to go crazy and be diagnosed as schizophrenic.   
      
   A comprehensive list of possible causes for disperceptions that cause   
   schizophrenia is shown in the table below.   
      
   Causes of Schizophrenia - well-known, less-known, and almost unknown   
      
   Well-known   
      
   Heavy metal toxicity   
   Sleep deprivation   
   Folic acid/B12 deficiency   
   Homocysteinuria   
   Drug intoxications   
   Hypothyroidism   
   Porphyria   
   Pellagra   
   Dementia paralytica   
   Less Well-known   
      
   Hypoglycemia   
   Psychomotor epilepsy   
   Cerebral allergy   
   Wheat-gluten sensitivity   
   Histapenia - copper excess   
   Histadelia   
   Pyroluria   
   Wilson's disease   
   Chronic Candida infection   
   Huntington's chorea   
   Almost Unknown   
      
   Prostaglandins   
   Dopamine excess   
   Endorphins   
   Serine excess   
   Prolactin excess   
   Dialysis therapy   
   Serotonin imbalance   
   Leucine, histidine imbalance   
   Interferon, amantadine, anti-viral drugs   
   Platelets deficient in MAO (monoamine   
   oxidase)   
   Dementia paralytica   
      
   This is a form of syphilis which generally affects patients in their   
   40s or 50s. Increased behavioral deterioration occurs and the person may   
   be believed to have a "psychiatric illness" or Alzheimer's   
   disease. Symptoms can include convulsions, irritability, difficulty in   
   concentrating, deterioration of memory, defective judgment, headaches,   
   insomnia, fatigue, lethargy, deteriorated hygiene emotional instability,   
   depression, and delusions of grandeur with lack of insight. The patient   
   gradually progresses toward dementia and paralysis.   
      
   Pellagra   
      
   A disease caused by a lack of Vitamin B3 (niacin) in the   
   diet or poor absorption of the vitamin. It is common throughout the   
   world but infrequent in the U.S. It primarily strikes those lacking   
   protein in their diets or who have a high corn diet or are unable to   
   assimilate the vitamin. Symptoms often begin with weakness,   
   listlessness, insomnia, and weight loss. Exposed skin becomes red and   
   scaly. Loss of appetite, indigestion, and diarrhea occur. As the disease   
   progresses the nervous system is impacted, manifesting symptoms such as   
   headaches, dizziness, aches, muscle tremors and mental disturbances.   
      
   Porphyria   
      
   Porphyria is an inherited disease, usually first manifesting after   
   puberty, that prevents the synthesis of heme, the part of blood that   
   carries oxygen and makes blood red. There are a number of types of   
   porphyria, some from bone marrow and others from the liver. Neurological   
   symptoms frequently occur in those stemming from the liver. A review of   
   2500 psychiatric patients showed a 1.5% occurrence of porphyria.   
      
   Porphyria is identified by port-colored urine and feces which darken   
   on exposure to light. Additional symptoms can be loss of vision,   
   sensitivity to light, aches and pains, acne, vomiting, diarrhea,   
   constipation, and abnormal fat metabolism.   
      
   Mental and neurological symptoms include irritability, confusion,   
   delirium, psychosis, depression, hallucinations, seizures, altered   
   consciousness, mood swings, and paralysis. Genetic carriers can   
   experience mood swings and body pain while exhibiting no other signs of   
   the illness.   
      
   Hypothyroidism   
      
   This is characterized by insufficient production of thyroid hormone.   
   It can also be caused by poor metabolism of the thyroid hormone. The   
   general net result is a slowing of the metabolism. This ailment is   
   thoroughly covered in Dr. Broda Barnes' Hypothyroidism: The   
   Unsuspected Illness. Broda's book discusses the fact that   
   hypothyroidism may not show up on standard blood tests and   
   further testing may be required (covered in the book).   
      
   Physical symptoms can include weight increase, sensitivity to cold,   
   coarsened features, thinning hair, dry puffy skin, pallor, hoarseness,   
   slurred speech, night blindness, difficulty hearing, vision loss,   
   migraines, constipation, edema, anemia, joint pain, slowed pulse, muscle   
   aches, and weakness, and low libido.   
      
   Mental symptoms include terrifying dreams, obsessions, frightening   
   hallucinations, paranoia, suicidal ruminations, psychosis, depression,   
   emotional instability, delusions, fear, suspiciousness, resentment,   
   auditory or visual hallucinations, paranoia and psychosis.   
      
   Hypothyroidism often first manifests as a result of severe stress.   
      
   The book Natural Healing for Schizophrenia reports that 10% of   
   patients diagnosed with "schizophrenia" have been found to   
   have thyroid imbalances. It has been estimated that up to 20% of women   
   over 60 have evidence of hypothyroidism.   
      
   Drug Intoxications   
      
   This is self-evident.   
      
   Homocysteinuria   
      
   The compound homocysteine is normally not found in the blood or urine   
   in noteworthy amounts. Homocysteinuria is a metabolic disorder resulting   
   in an excessive accumulation of homocysteine in the blood and urine.   
   Frequency of occurrence is 1 in 100,000 patients.   
      
   Elevated homocysteine levels are a risk factor for all kinds of   
   vascular disease including strokes and heart ailments. Homocysteinuria   
   can result in mental retardation and seizures.   
      
   Folic Acid   
      
   Folic acid (Vitamin B9) is needed for forming body protein and   
   hemoglobin. It is also needed to utilize B12. Folic acid and   
   B12 work together to metabolize carbohydrates, fats, and   
   proteins and to form red blood cells. Older people are most   
   at risk for developing B12 deficiencies. Also, surgical   
   removal of part of the intestine can lead to B12 deficiency.   
      
   B12 deficiency is the cause of pernicious anemia,   
   characterized by a gradual reduction in the number of red blood cells   
   and by gastrointestinal and nervous disturbances. Eighty percent of   
   pernicious anemia patients show neurological changes and 60% exhibit   
   personality changes.   
      
   Physical symptoms of folic acid deficiency include fatigue and   
   weakness, paleness, red, sore tongue, lesions in the corner of the   
   mouth, burning feet, restless leg syndrome, shortness of breath, nausea,   
   vomiting and, rarely, diarrhea.   
      
   Physical symptoms of B12 deficiency include weakness in   
   the arms and legs (sometimes being mistaken for multiple sclerosis) in   
      
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