title: Infectious Agents are Associated with Psychiatric Diseases.
abstract: There are several infectious agents in the environment that can cause persistent infections in the host. They usually cause their symptoms shortly after first infection and later persist as silent viruses and bacteria within the body. However, these chronic infections may play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and Tourette's syndrome (TS). We investigated the distribution of different neurotrophic infectious agents in TS, schizophrenia and controls. A total of 93 individuals were included (schizophrenic patients, Tourette patients and controls). We evaluated antibodies against cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes-simplex virus (HSV), Epstein-Barr virus, Toxoplasma, Mycoplasma and Chlamydia trachomatis/pneumoniae. By comparing schizophrenia and TS, we found a higher prevalence of HSV (P=0.017) and CMV (P=0.017) antibodies in schizophrenic patients. Considering the relationship between schizophrenia, TS and healthy controls, we showed that there are associations for Chlamydia trachomatis (P=0.007), HSV (P=0.027) and CMV (P=0.029). When all measured viruses, bacteria and protozoa were combined, schizophrenic patients had a higher rate of antibodies to infectious agents than TS patients (P=0.049). Tourette and schizophrenic patients show a different vulnerability to infectious agents. Schizophrenic patients were found to have a higher susceptibility to viral infections than individuals with TS. This finding might point to a modification in special immune parameters in these diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Daniela Lydia
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Elif
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Weidinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wildenauer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Jenny Katharina
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Obermeier
authors.affiliation: Vinzenz von Paul Hospital, Psychiatry , Rottweil, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Hans-Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Müller
keywords: infectious agents; schizophrenia; tourette’s syndrome