Scientists shocked to find antibiotics alleviate symptoms of schizophrenia

[n2doc]

A cheap antibiotic normally prescribed to teenagers for acne is to be tested as a treatment to alleviate the symptoms of psychosis in patients with schizophrenia, in a trial that could advance scientific understanding of the causes of mental illness.

The National Institute for Health Research is funding a £1.9m trial of minocycline, which will begin recruiting patients in the UK next month. The research follows case reports from Japan in which the drug was prescribed to patients with schizophrenia who had infections and led to dramatic improvements in their psychotic symptoms.

The chance observation caused researchers to test the drug in patients with schizophrenia around the world. Trials in Israel, Pakistan and Brazil have shown significant improvement in patients treated with the drug.

Scientists believe that schizophrenia and other mental illnesses including depression and Alzheimer's disease may result from inflammatory processes in the brain. Minocycline has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects which they believe could account for the positive findings.

more

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-shocked-to-find-antibiotics-alleviate-symptoms-of-schizophrenia-7469121.html

[cbayer]

1. Alternative hypothesis might be

that infectious processes cause an increase in symptoms. If you treat the infection, the symptoms of schizophrenia might improve as a result.

The study they propose will address this by treating patients with no apparent signs of infection.

Interesting.

[uppityperson]

2. Rather like people in nursing homes "acting out" when they have a bladder infection.

[cbayer]

3. Exactly.

And antibiotics will fix that, too.

[Lisa0825]

5. Usually antibiotics given for inflammation are at a much lower dosage than is effective vs infection

Being on antibiotics at that level reduces inflammation but does not likely prevent or eliminate bacterial infections.

[xchrom]

4. Du rec. Nt

[1monster]

6. Way back when I was in my early to mid teens I read a book written by someone

who suffered from schizophrenia. He said that when he suffered from a head cold or flu, his symptoms went away. In one of his stable periods, he researched everything he could about the history of schizophrenia and found that in ancient times, the Greeks would drive the victims into the swamp where they would contract malaria because the malaria would alleviate the symptoms. It made me wonder if there were not some medical condition rather than mental condition that caused the illness.

I think the book was written in the late fifties or early sixties and I probably read it in the late sixties or very early seventies... before there was much knowledge of brain chemistry and the understanding that mental illness was as much a physical problem and any other illness rather than a failing of character of the afflicted.

It makes sense that antibiotics might help treat a "mental" illness...

[mzmolly]

7. Amazing. I am intrigued by the connection between mental health

and microbes.

Thanks for sharing.

Here's another article on the subject. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2010/microbes-and-mental-illness.shtml