New research is the latest to find evidence of a link between mental illness and infections caused by a group of bacteria commonly found in cats and other animals. The small study found that people with diagnosed schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder were more likely to carry Bartonella bacteria into their bloodstream than a control group of patients. More research is needed to show definitively whether these infections can in fact contribute to mental illness, however.
Acute infections involving Bartonella bacteria can be especially serious for people with health problems or with a weakened immune system. In most people, they are believed to cause only mild, short-term illnesses. For years, however, Ed Breitschwerdt and his fellow researchers at North Carolina State University have theorized that the health effects of these infections may be more profound in at least some unlucky people.
Your previous work has highlighted the case of a 14-year-old boy who suddenly developed symptoms similar to schizophrenia and was later found to have a species of Bartonella known to cause cat scratch fever. In this case, the boy’s serious psychiatric problems seemed to disappear as soon as his chronic infection with Bartonella was treated with antibiotics. Last year, they Published Research has found that other people with similar neuropsychiatric symptoms often carried these bacteria, along with physical symptoms of an ongoing infection that appeared around the same time, as distinct skin lesions.
For this new research, the researchers at NC State worked with researchers at the University of North Carolina. Your study, Published last week in Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases, compared 17 people with diagnosed schizophrenia or schizoaffectionive disorder for a control group of 13 healthy people, in what is known as a case-control study.
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According to the study, both groups underwent a comprehensive examination. This included the use of more sensitive PCR tests, which look for the presence of pathogen DNA in our body. Bartonelas are somewhat strange among bacteria, as they are capable of infecting and hiding within the cells of our body (red blood cells, in the case of Bartonella). This disappearance trick allows them to survive undetected by the immune system and also makes conventional tests worse for detecting an active infection. Last year, Breitschwerdt and his colleagues Published research showing that this newer test technique, called the digital gout test, or ddPCR, could be more accurate in identifying Bartonella than older tests.
In 11 of the 17 people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, traces of Bartonella’s DNA could be found, while the same was only true for one of the 13 control patients. Although cats, dogs and even the fleas they carry can be vectors of Bartonella’s transmission, the team found no link between a greater chance of infection and the report of pet ownership or exposure to fleas.
The team is careful to describe their work as a pilot study, with the sole purpose of proving that further investigation on this link is worthwhile. But, along with his previous research, Breitschwerdt believes that the case for this theory is only getting stronger.
“Our research to date continues to support a role for Bartonella species as a cause or co-factor in neuropsychiatric disease, ”Breitschwerdt told Gizmodo via email.
However, he added: “There is a lot of work to be done to clarify these preliminary results.”
The team is already working on validating the ddPCR test for other groups of bacteria that can invade the bloodstream and may be more difficult to find with the standard test. With more funding and cooperation with other research centers, they also hope to conduct a larger study comparing people with and without schizophrenia.