BREAKTHROUGH

Psychiatric Conditions Could Be Linked to Autoimmune Issues: Research

Immunological problems could be playing a role for some patients with conditions including schizophrenia and autism.

New research findings suggest that some patients’ psychiatric conditions may be caused or aggravated by underlying autoimmune diseases. It’s hoped that a better understanding of the links between immunological issues and psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia and depression could open new paths to treatments for such patients. Sander Markx, director of precision psychiatry at Columbia University, spoke to The Washington Post about successfully treating patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder by treating their underlying cases of lupus. One patient was even able to leave a psychiatric hospital where she’d lived for nearly two decades after being catatonic for almost 20 years. The SNF Center for Precision Psychiatry and Mental Health at Columbia is now working on autoimmunity screenings on patients at long-term facilities in New York. Thomas Smith, chief medical officer for the New York State Office of Mental Health, said such analyses could help “save someone’s life, get them out of the hospital, have them live in the community, go home.”