This auto antibody of protein causes schizophrenia, study revealed

"ltr" style="text-align: justify;">Schizophrenia : Schizophrenia is a problem related to mental health. In which a person starts considering his imaginations as reality. He is always confused. Schizophrenia is a mental problem that usually occurs in childhood or adolescence.

Researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University have done research on this. Led by Hiroki Shiwaku, his team found that some patients with schizophrenia have an autoantibody. This is a type of protein that is usually produced by the immune system rather than a virus or bacteria. This means that autoantibodies cause schizophrenia-like behavior and changes in the brain.

"ltr">What is research

"ltr">This research report published in Cell Reports Medicine describes a disorder that has many different causes and symptoms, which makes treatment very difficult. Schizophrenia is linked to genetic, environmental and biological factors. New research has shown that autoantibodies in patients can aggravate the disorder.

"ltr">Connection of special protein with the brain

"ltr">The research team focused on a specific protein called NCAM1, which helps brain cells communicate through synapses, special connections that allow brain cells to transmit signals to one another. Previous studies had also indicated that NCAM1 might be involved in schizophrenia, so the researchers decided to investigate whether autoantibodies targeting this protein might be linked to the disorder. 

"ltr">How autoantibodies affect the brain

"ltr">The research team examined blood samples from 200 healthy and 200 schizophrenia patients. They found that only 12 patients had these specific autoantibodies, which suggests that these autoantibodies are not common. They may be important in a small sub-group of schizophrenia cases. To see how autoantibodies affect the brain, the researchers purified autoantibodies from some patients and injected them into the brains of mice. This caused the mice to start behaving like people with schizophrenia, and there were changes in their brains as well. This showed that in some patients with schizophrenia, it may be related to the immune system mistakenly attacking the brain.

"ltr">Treatment of Schizophrenia

"ltr">Its treatment can last for a long time. If the patient’s problem is detected in the beginning and he is treated with psychological therapy and his family is also given counseling, then the patient’s condition can be managed.