Increased anti-Sm antibodies in schizophrenic patients and their families.
1. Autoantibodies in the Sm complex have become a useful serologic aid in the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and have rarely been observed in other diseases. 2. A subset of SLE patients have a variety of psychiatric abnormalities, including schizophrenia. 3. The authors have recently observed that schizophrenic patients have a high incidence of autoantibodies suggesting that autoimmune phenomena may play a role in the pathogenesis of this disease. 4. In the present study the authors investigated multicase families with schizophrenia for the presence of anti-Sm antibodies and showed that these autoantibodies are elevated both in patients and in their healthy relatives. 5. An autoimmune process may be involved in the pathology of schizophrenia.
Sirota
P
P
Abarbanel Mental Health Center, Bat-Yam, Israel.
Firer
M
M
Schild
K
K
Zurgil
N
N
Barak
Y
Y
Elizur
A
A
Slor
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D017411:Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D055517:snRNP Core Proteins
D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins; D017411:Ribonucleoproteins, Small Nuclear; D055517:snRNP Core Proteins