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Retroviruses and schizophrenia revisited
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
American Journal of Medical Genetics
|February 16, 1996
Summary
Researchers are exploring if retroviruses contribute to schizophrenia. A new method aims to detect retroviral DNA sequences in patients
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Virology
- Genetics
Background:
- Schizophrenia is a complex disorder with suspected genetic and environmental causes.
- Theories suggest intrauterine viral infections during fetal development may play a role.
- Retroviruses are hypothesized as potential
- Purpose_of_the_Study
- Main_Methods
- Main_Results
- Conclusions
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential role of retroviruses in schizophrenia causation.
- To explore a novel method for detecting retroviral DNA in patients' genomes.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing evidence linking viral infections and schizophrenia.
- Discussion of retroviral characteristics making them candidate pathogens.
- Proposal of a new approach: direct genomic search for retroviral DNA sequences encoding reverse transcriptase (RT).
Main Results:
- Previous attempts to detect retroviral activity via RT in peripheral samples were unsuccessful.
- Negative findings may be due to the virus not being active in peripheral lymphocytes.
Conclusions:
- Directly searching schizophrenic patients' genomes for retroviral DNA is a more sensitive detection method.
- This approach could elucidate the role of endogenous retroviruses in schizophrenia.