One percent of Bermuda's population -- about 600 people -- suffer from schizophrenia, a mental health expert claimed yesterday.

Hamilton Rotary Club members heard guest speaker Dr. Warren Strittmatter explain how he was visiting the Island this week to spend time with consultants at St. Brendan's Hospital.

He said one percent of people were struck down by the mental disorder, which affects people's thought processes and ability to remain integrated in society, on average.

The professor and chief of neurology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, said two million people in the US were schizophrenic, costing, on average, $32 billion a year to treat.

He compared this to other figures from the US, where Alzheimer's disease affected four billion people and cost $92 billion to treat each year, and Parkinson's disease affected about half a million people at any one time and cost $5.6 billion a year to treat.

Dr. Strittmatter said tests proved schizophrenia was caused by a genetic disorder that carried through families and resulted in abnormal brain development.

Patients were mostly struck down in their early 20s, and often found it difficult to continue working, living alone and enjoying a normal social life.

But doctors and volunteers abroad and in Bermuda were working to reintegrate sufferers with their friends, families and the community to bring normality back to their lives.

He said: "A patient's grandfather may have the disease and a patient's brother may have the disease.

"One percent is the probability of getting it if it's not in the family.

"If it is in the family, the probability jumps to 15 percent.

"If there are two parents with it, then the probability doubles to 35 percent.'' If a twin has schizophrenia, the doctor continued, there was a 15 percent chance of the other twin also developing the disorder.

If the twins were identical, that probability became 35 percent.

Dr. Strittmatter said most people developed the disease when they hit their early 20s. Most patients suffered with the illness for the remainder of their lives and their condition deteriorated with time -- 60 percent experiencing bouts every few months, 20 percent suffering constantly and about 20 per cent having a cluster of problems before they subside.

He added: "A patient with schizophrenia may have thoughts in his head that are obviously not occurring.

"A schizophrenic feels thoughts are being planted in his head or that thoughts are being taken out of his head by some other force.

"Very typically, they may have problems with language. It's a disease that not only affects the patient, but also the ability that patient has to integrate with the family and with society.'' The consultant neurologist arrived in Bermuda on Monday to share experiences, learn from and teach the medical team at St. Brendan's Hospital, before flying out today.

Meeting of the minds: Duke University Medical Center's professor and chief of neurology Warren Strittmatter spoke about schizophrenia at yesterday's Hamilton Rotary Club meeting.

HEALTH HTH