Scientists in Japan have made an exciting discovery that could help us better understand schizophrenia, a serious mental health condition.
Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental University found a special protein in the blood of some people with schizophrenia that might be linked to the disorder.
This protein is called an autoantibody. Normally, our immune system makes antibodies to fight off germs and viruses.
But sometimes, it makes a mistake and creates autoantibodies that attack the body’s own healthy cells. In this study, the researchers found autoantibodies in a few people with schizophrenia that attacked a brain protein called NCAM1.
NCAM1 is important because it helps brain cells connect and talk to each other. These connections, called synapses, are needed for memory, thinking, and other brain functions. Problems with NCAM1 have already been linked to schizophrenia in earlier research.
To test their idea, the scientists looked at blood samples from 200 people with schizophrenia and 200 healthy people. They found the harmful autoantibody in just 12 of the schizophrenia patients. That’s a small number, but it shows that in some cases, schizophrenia might be related to the immune system attacking the brain.
To understand what these autoantibodies do, the researchers took them from patients and put them into the brains of mice. After only a short time, the mice started showing changes in behavior, like problems with memory and being easily startled—signs similar to symptoms seen in people with schizophrenia.
When the scientists looked closer, they found that the mice had fewer synapses and other important structures in their brain that help cells communicate. This suggests the autoantibodies were damaging the brain’s connection system.
This discovery is important because schizophrenia is a very complicated illness. It doesn’t look the same in everyone, and it’s often hard to treat. The current treatments don’t work for all patients, and scientists have been trying to figure out why.
Now, this study shows that at least in some people, schizophrenia might be caused by an immune system problem. If that’s true, doctors could one day treat those patients in a different way—by targeting the immune system instead of the brain chemicals.
Even though only a small group of patients seem to have this specific autoantibody, the findings are still promising. They may help researchers develop new kinds of personalized treatment and offer hope for those who haven’t responded to traditional medications.
The study was led by Dr. Hiroki Shiwaku and published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. It opens a new door in the search for better ways to diagnose and treat schizophrenia in the future.
If you care about mental health, please read studies about cannabis use disorder linked to increased risk of mental diseases and some mental health drugs can cause rapid weight gain.
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