{"id":3230342,"date":"2024-06-13T14:16:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T18:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futurity.org\/?p=3230342"},"modified":"2024-06-17T08:46:16","modified_gmt":"2024-06-17T12:46:16","slug":"schizophrenia-bartonella-pathogens-3230342","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futurity.org\/schizophrenia-bartonella-pathogens-3230342\/","title":{"rendered":"Bacteria may play a role in mental illness"},"content":{"rendered":"
Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder are three times more likely to have DNA from the pathogen Bartonella<\/em> in their blood than adults without these disorders, according to a new study.<\/p>\n The work further supports the idea that pathogens\u2014particularly vector-borne pathogens\u2014could play a role in mental illness.<\/p>\n Bartonella<\/em> are a group of vector-borne bacteria<\/a> transmitted primarily via arthropods like fleas, lice, and potentially ticks, but also by the animals that harbor them.<\/p>\n For example, the species Bartonella henselae<\/em> is associated with cat scratch disease, which until recently was thought to be a short-lived (or self-limiting) infection. There are at least 45 different known Bartonella<\/em> species, of which 18 have been found to infect humans.<\/p>\n Improved methods for detecting Bartonella<\/em> infection in animals and humans have led to the diagnosis of bartonelloses in patients with a host of chronic illnesses, as well as in some patients with psychiatric symptoms.<\/p>\n In the new study, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry<\/a><\/em>, the researchers analyzed the blood of 116 people for evidence of Bartonella<\/em> DNA and Bartonella<\/em> specific antibodies. They collected the samples during a biomarker research study conducted by Shannon Delaney and colleagues at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC).<\/p>\n Of the 116 people, 29 were in the control group; 16 were prodromal, meaning they had symptoms but no formal diagnosis; 51 were children, adolescents, or adults with psychosis<\/a>; and 20 were close relatives of those diagnosed with psychosis.<\/p>\n In a previous study conducted at Columbia, these same patients had been tested for increased inflammatory mediators\u2014in other words, evidence of inflammation. That study found that patients with psychosis were more likely to have increased inflammatory markers in the blood.<\/p>\n “As an infectious disease researcher, I believe that infection should be critically examined as a potential cause of diseases for which the cause is unclear or unknown,” says Edward Breitschwerdt, professor of internal medicine at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.<\/p>\n “We wanted to explore potential drivers of inflammation in patients with neuropsychiatric illnesses. Based on the associations I’ve seen between Bartonella<\/em> and symptoms of mental illness in my prior work, Bartonella<\/em> infection could be one possible candidate.”<\/p>\n In a blinded study, the team used immunofluorescence assays and digital droplet PCR testing to detect and amplify DNA in the blood samples. As the blood samples had been frozen and stored, the researchers did not attempt to culture bacteria from them. Culturing the bacteria can further enhance DNA detection.<\/p>\n Of participants diagnosed with psychosis, 43% had Bartonella<\/em> DNA in their blood compared to 14% in the control population. Additionally, using DNA sequencing, the team was able to identify the Bartonella<\/em> species for 18 of the 31 participants with Bartonella<\/em> in their blood, including infection or co-infection with Bartonella henselae<\/em> (11\/18), Bartonella vinsonii<\/em> subsp. berkhoffii (6\/18), Bartonella quintana<\/em> (2\/18), Bartonella alsatica<\/em> (1\/18), and Bartonella rochalimae<\/em> (1\/18).<\/p>\n