Failure to detect borna disease virus antibody and RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of psychiatric patients.
OBJECTIVE
Borna disease virus (BDV) is a highly neurotropic agent causing various neuropsychiatric symptoms in animals. Over the past two decades, it has been suggested that BDV might be associated with human psychiatric diseases. We aimed to investigate whether BDV is associated with psychiatric patients in Korea.


METHODS
We recruited 60 normal controls and 198 psychiatric patients (98 patients with depressive disorder, 60 with schizophrenia, and 40 with bipolar disorder). We used an indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) test for the BDV antibody and a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) assay for p24 and p40 RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).


RESULTS
Neither the BDV antibody nor p24, p40 RNA was detected in controls and patients groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that BDV might not be associated with psychiatric patients in Korea.
Na
Kyoung-Sae
KS
Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Korea University, Seoul, Korea.
Tae
Seong-Ho
SH
Song
Jin-Won
JW
Kim
Yong-Ku
YK