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Sunday, May 16, 1999 Oakville Beaver Weekend 13 Weekend Focus To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 "The cure fo r Epilepsy is in your pocket." & jju EPILEPSY " CANADA 1 800 860-5499 Laurie McLachlan J e w e l l e r y Award Winning Designer 8 Miller Mews, Unit 10 129 Reynolds Street, Oakville | Tel./Fax: (905) 338-8475 By Sandra Omand SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Anew drug that treats all thesymptoms of schizophrenia may help alleviate the homelessness problem and allow sufferers of the dis­ ease to reclaim a place in society. The first in a new generation of drags, Olanzapine was the focus of a presentation made by Dr Evans Collins, Brennan McCabe and his mother Nora McCabe during an education night at the Ramada Inn recendy. The three were invited to speak as part of Mental Health Awareness Week by the Department of Psychiatry for Oakville and Milton Hospitals through an educational grant provided by the pharmaceutical company Eh Lilly Canada Brennan McCabe, 35, was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17 years old. He has been taking Olanzapine for two years and credits the drag for allowing him to attend York University, where he has just completed the first semester in introductory French, and to work in the coffee bar at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Queen Street site. That Brennan McCabe was able to deliver a speech to the audience of 120, who almost all had a family member affected by the disease, was tangible proof of the efficacy of Olanzapine. Despite the inroads being made with the new generation of drags like Olanzapine, Nora McCabe said there remains a stigma attached to those suf­ fering from schizophrenia that results in them being marginalized. "There is a sense that people who have schizophrenia are likely to be vio­ lent and more randomly violent than anyone else walking the street. That is not true," she said. This isolation from the rest of soci­ ety, and the resulting poverty, is one of the reasons they "end up becoming a large part of the homeless population," said Dr. Evan Collins, a psychiatrist who works at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto,. The Report of the Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force, pre­ pared by Anne Golden for Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman, found that about one third of the homeless population suffers from mental illness and that 33% of single men in hostels have mental ill­ ness. The figure for women in hostels is even higher with as many as 75% of them being mental ill. During Lastman's National Symposium on Homelessness and Housing in March, it was noted that among the one third of homeless who suffer from mental illness, 20% have schizophrenia. Collins, said the high percentage of homeless people with mental illness can be traced back to the de-institutionaliza- tion of the schizophrenic patients in the 1960s and the failure to replace these services with adequate social services. "All they did was send people onto the street," said Collins. The problem has been compounded by the horrific side-effects from the drags traditionally used to treat schizo­ phrenics. The side effects are so bad that people do not want to take the medica­ tion resulting in non-compliance. Collins said with Olanzapine non- compliance is not an issue because the patients feel better and the only known side-effect so far is a propensity for weight gain. Brennan McCabe described in vivid detail his own experience of side effects on earlier medications. When he took Chlorpromazine, for example, he suffered a dry mouth and swollen tongue that turned a "furry yellow colour" so his doctor switched him toFluanxol. But on Fluanxol, he experi­ enced unbearably painful seizures that lasted 20 minutes. "If you had a side-effect that makes you think that your tongue is falling back and you can't swallow you are not going to want to take that medicine," said Nora McCabe. Brennan McCabe said Fluanxol also caused him to feel weak and sluggish. "He had no ambition, no desire to even get out of bed," said Nora McCabe. Collins explained this is because Fluanxol and Chlorpromazine, and other drags like them, deal only with psychotic symptoms like hallucinations and delusions, but do nothing to address mood symptoms like anxiety and depression. With both aspects of the disease being treated, patients can start participating in life again, said Nora McCabe, who is also Vice Chair of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health,. "It was the mood symptoms that were affected the most (by Olanzapine) and these were the things that effected families the most," said Collins. "Suddenly people would shower and come out with their families." Nora McCabe said that after her son started the medication he started to read the newspaper and watch television again. Both Collins and Nora McCabe cau­ tioned that Olanzapine is not a miracle drug. "These medications are new and improved and they are great, but they are not going to work in isolation," said Collins, "You need to use them with some of these other psycho-social reha­ bilitation programs, i.e. counseling, social skills training, vocational rehabili­ tation, assertive community treatment, and supportive housing." Nora McCabe said it is important to give these people decent housing, jobs and meaningful social activities that give a quality of life. Brennan and Nora McCabe: new drug giv­ ing new hope to schizophrenia Photo by Ron Kuzyk You'll want to remember this date because on June 4, Halton is going to provide you with its summer edition of Halton life, the area's fastest growing publication. With a strong editorial lire up, June's edition will cover everything from local festivals to the various types of unique eateries found in the area. As a Halton-based business, you'll want to take full advantage of this opportunity to promote your business to more than 250,000 Halton residents! BuriingtanPost 632-4444 C a n a tria n C h a m p io n 878-2341 Romance The Oakville Beaver 845-3824 Georgetown Independent 873-0301 More hope for schizophrenics N e w d ru g a llo w s fo r m o re n o rm al life THRI ' y /o w n e o t r ftnm o- to /ia b y o w '/l/is u l.. . ' HOT! HOT! HOT DEALS! G et Ready for Camp! M a y 1 7 - M a y 2 2 j a c k e t s e a n s s h o r ts & Shirts from $ 5 .9 9 from $2 .99 l o o k s & R a i n G e a ' S l e e p i n g B a g s N o v e l s j o g g i n g f r o m $ 1 - 9 9 & B e a d i n g 356 Kerr St., 495 Brant St. Mon- Wed, Sot. 10-6 Thurs-Fri 10-8 Burlington Mon- Wed, Sot. 10-6 Thurs-Fri 10-8 Closed for lunch 1-1:30