Investigation of Precipitins to Human Brain in Sera of Psychotic Patients

Altered serum proteins in mental illness have been reported by workers in various parts of the world, and a review of these studies has led to the consideration of an autoimmune mechanism in the pathogenesis of some functional psychoses (Fessel, 1962a). Several reports have appeared in recent years which suggest the presence of antibodies in the serum of certain psychiatric patients to central nervous system tissue. Many of these have been reviewed by Vartanyan (1963). Fessel (1962b, 1963) demonstrated agglutination of latex particles coated with monkey brain extract and agglutination of tanned sheep red blood cells coated with human brain extract, but no precipitins in double diffusion in agar of the sera against monkey brain extract. As an alternative to antibrain antibodies he suggested a less specific physicochemical abnormality of the serum which caused the agglutination. Yokoyama, Trams, and Brady (1962), using a sheep red blood cell haemagglutination technique, showed the presence of anti-asialoganglioside antibodies in the sera of 3 of 14 schizophrenic patients and anti-ganglioside antibody in the serum of another. Kuznetzova and Semenov (1961), by complement fixation, demonstrated antibodies in the sera of 22 of 84 schizophrenics, mainly to human brain and not to other organs. The antibodies appeared more frequently in the later stages of the illness (Semenov, Morozov, and Kuznetzova, 1961). Skalickova and Jezkova (1961), also with a complement fixation technique, demonstrated blood and cerebrospinal fluid antibodies to grey and white matter during the “infectious” onset of schizophrenia, but not in the chronic, demented phase.