Schizophrenia and other mental disorders require long-term adoptive immunotherapy.
Many different microbial factors seem to contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenic and other psychiatric disorders. Activation of all T lymphocytes reactivates those downregulated by low-grade chronic infections and restores equilibrium in immune cell subpopulations. Different immune cell subpopulations express different neurotrophin receptors and produce different cytokines, particularly brain-derived neurotrophin (BDNF) and neurotrophin 3 (NT3) [M. Besser, R. Wank, J. Immunol. 162 (1998) 6303-6306] that appear to play a key role in schizophrenic and bipolar disorders [E. Jonsson, S. Brene, X.R. Zhang, et al., Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 95 (1997) 414-419; R.S. Duman, Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 54 (1997) 597-606; J.A. Siuciak, D.R. Lewis, S.J. Wiegand, R.M. Lindsay, Pharmacol. Biochem. Be 56 (1997) 131-137]. The hypothesis that adoptive immunotherapy is effective in psychiatric disorders will be supported by three case reports, in a patient with bipolar disorder, a patient with schizophrenia, and a patient with autism.
Institute of Immunology, Klinikum Innenstadt, University of Munich, Goethestrasse 31, 80336 Munich, Germany. wank@ifi.med.uni-muenchen.de
Rudolf
R
Wank
D006801:Humans; D016219:Immunotherapy, Adoptive; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology