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Interferon and Immunoglobulin G as Immunological Markers in Chronic Schizophrenia

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Psychiatry and Biological Factors

Abstract

The hypothesis that the etiology of schizophrenia may involve a viral infection is certainly not new (Menninger, 1926). One refinement of the hypothesis has led to the concept that the disorder may involve an abnormal immune response, such as production of a central nervous system (CNS) autoantibody, perhaps following exposure to viral antigens (Knight, 1982). While the viral/immunologic hypothesis has generated decades of research, these investigations have failed to yield definitive evidence to support or refute the concept (DeLisi and Crow, 1986; Torrey and Kaufmann, 1986). Nevertheless, the rapid advances being made in understanding the molecular processes involved in viral pathogenesis and immune regulation are presenting dramatic new opportunities to test this hypothesis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuropsychiatry Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, D.C., 20032, USA

    Darrell G. Kirch & Richard Jed Wyatt

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  1. Darrell G. Kirch
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  2. Richard Jed Wyatt
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  1. Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Edouard Kurstak

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© 1991 Plenum Publishing Corporation

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Kirch, D.G., Wyatt, R.J. (1991). Interferon and Immunoglobulin G as Immunological Markers in Chronic Schizophrenia. In: Kurstak, E. (eds) Psychiatry and Biological Factors. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5811-4_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5811-4_18

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5813-8

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