An Australian study has shown increased inflammation in the brains of
people with schizophrenia, tightening the link between immune function and
schizophrenia.
An Australian study published
recently in the journalMolecular Psychiatry has shown increased
inflammation in the brains of people with schizophrenia, tightening the link
between immune function and schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a complex,
debilitating disease that makes it difficult for health experts to pinpoint the
exact cause of it. The current consensus on the disease is that schizophrenia
results from a combination of factors such as genetics, prenatal development, and
life events.
In particular, viral infections in
utero or in childhood have been found to be associated with an
increased risk of developing the disease. Therefore, several research groups
have subscribed to the pathogenic theory of schizophrenia by studying the link
between early infections and the incidence of schizophrenia.
Challenging this theory, a team
of scientists led by Professor Shannon Weickert at the Neuroscience Research
Australia looked for changes in gene expression, particularly in genes that are
involved in immune function, in the brains of people with schizophrenia and
healthy people without the disease.
To their surprise, they observed
increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in 40 percent of patients. These
cytokines are involved in driving immune responses and triggering microglia,
the main form of active immune defense in the brain.
Interestingly, increased brain
inflammation resulting from cytokines was found in the dorsolateral prefrontal
cortex, a key brain region affected by schizophrenia.
“To find this immune pattern in
nearly half of people with schizophrenia raises the possibility that this is in
fact a new root cause of the disease,” said Weickert.
In addition, the group believes
that their findings on the role of an overactive immune system in schizophrenia
will pave the way for future therapies aimed at immune suppression.
“As there are multiple biological
root causes of schizophrenia, the fact inflammation occurs in 40 percent of
individuals is huge, and opens up a whole new range of treatment
possibilities,” Weickert said.
The article can be found at: Fillman SG et al. (2012)
Increased inflammatory markers identified in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
of individuals with schizophrenia.
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Source: NeuRA
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