New research is the latest discovery of 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 really contribute to mental illness, however.
Acute infections involving Bacteria Bartonella can be particularly serious for people in poor health or with weakened immune systems. In most people, it is believed to cause only mild and 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 deepening in at least some unlucky people.
Their previous works had Highlighted the case of a 14-year-old boy who suddenly developed schizophrenia-like symptoms and was later found to be carrying a species of Bartonella known to cause cat scratching fever. In this case, the boy’s severe psychiatric problems seemed to clear up once his chronic Bartonella infection was treated with antibiotics. Last year, they published The research found that other people with similar neuropsychiatric symptoms often have these bacteria, along with physical symptoms of an ongoing infection that occurred at the same time, such as distinct skin lesions.
For this new research, NC researchers worked with researchers at the University of North Carolina. Their study, published last week in vector-borne diseases and zoonotic diseases, compared 17 people diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizoaffectdisorder for a control group of 13 healthy people, in what is known as the 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 testing, which looks for the presence of DNA pathogens in our body. Bartonella is somewhat strange among bacteria because they are able to infect and then hide in the cells of our body (red blood cells, in the case of Bartonella). This trick allows them to survive undetected by the immune system and also makes conventional tests worse when an active infection is detected. Last year, Breitschwerdt and his colleagues published research showing that this new testing technique, called digital drip testing or ddPCR, may be more accurate in identifying Bartonella than older tests.
Traces of Bartonella DNA could be found in 11 of the 17 people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, while the same was true for only one of the 13 control patients. Although the cats, dogs and even fleas they carry may be vectors for the transmission of Bartonella, the team found no link between a higher chance of infection and ownership of reported pets or exposure to fleas.
The team is careful to describe its work as a pilot study, intended exclusively to demonstrate that further investigation into this link is worthwhile. But together with their previous research, Breitschwerdt believes that this theory is becoming stronger.
“Our research so far continues to support a role for Bartonella species as a cause or co-factor in neuropsychiatric diseases, ”Breitschwerdt told Gizmodo in an email.
However, he added: “There is a lot of work that needs to be done to clarify these preliminary results.”
The team is already working on validating ddPCR testing for other groups of bacteria that can invade blood flow and may be harder to find with standard tests. With more funding and cooperation with other research centers, they also hope to conduct a larger study comparing people with and without schizophrenia.