Discipline of Clinical Anatomy School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences College of Health Sciences University of KwaZulu-Natal Westville Campus, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa.
2 papers in the library · 15 citations · publishing 2024
Mental illness is culturally understood as caused by witchcraft or an ancestral calling, according to traditional health practitioners in the Harry Gwala District Municipality. Diagnosis relies on spiritual intervention, including divination through consulting ancestors, examining family background, burning incense, and examining the patient. Common symptoms observed are aggression, hallucination, and unresponsiveness. Treatment involves medicinal concoctions and cultural rituals that address ancestral and spiritual influences, with the treatment duration guided by ancestors. Cultural beliefs and ancestors shape most aspects of mental illness, from perceived cause through diagnosis to treatment.
In a study using adult male Sprague Dawley rats, repeated ketamine administration (30 mg/kg for 5 days) induced social withdrawal and reduced social novelty and motivation, mimicking schizophrenia-like symptoms. Subsequent treatment with either the antipsychotic risperidone (6 mg/kg) or an extract of the herbal plant Salix mucronata (5 mg/kg) for 7 days successfully reversed the social deficits. Both treatments also increased brain dopamine and acetylcholine levels. However, the rats showed reduced sucrose preference (indicating anhedonia) and reduced weight gain after ketamine and mild stress, and reduced brain volume was noted in experimental groups. No differences in brain mass were found between controls and treated groups. The findings suggest that S. mucronata has antipsychotic potential similar to risperidone.