title: The continued search for evidence of retroviral infection in schizophrenic patients.
abstract: Retroviral infection has been proposed as an etiologic factor in schizophrenia. In an effort to unmask a latent retrovirus, short term cultures of peripheral lymphocytes from 15 schizophrenic subjects and nine normal controls were exposed to ionizing radiation and co-cultured with indicator cells. Reverse transcriptase activity, a marker of retroviral infection, could not be detected in any of the cultures. Our findings are further evidence against a role for retroviral infection in the etiology of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, DC 20032.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Coggiano
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kirch
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wyatt
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kulaga
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000382:microbiology*; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000382:microbiology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology