Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex chronic neuropsychiatric disorder of the central nervous system with worldwide prevalence. The disease is thought to have multiple etiologies, including infections, genetic predisposition, and other environmental factors. There is increasing evidence pointing to a close association between chlamydial infections and schizophrenia. Here, we review the data available in the literature on the detection of bacterial species in the family Chlamydiaceae in schizophrenia and critically analyze the association and causal relationship between Chlamydiaceae and schizophrenia following the established criteria of Hill. This analysis demonstrates a probable causal relationship between Chlamydiaceae and schizophrenia. The identification of microbial agents associated with the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia may provide new insight into the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of the disorder.
Highlights
The acknowledgement that pathogenic microorganisms can cause chronic diseases has provided a new perspective on infectious diseases
We have identified that the agents most correlated with schizophrenia and permanent psychosis, especially on the adult population, are CMV [31], Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) [32], Borna Disease virus (BDV) [23], Human Endogen Retrovirus-W (HERV-W) [33], Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) [34], Borrelia burgdorferi [35], Treponema palladium [19], and Chlamydia trachomatis, Chlamydophila psittaci and Chlamydophila pneumoniae from Chlamydiaceae members [24]
In the light of restricted and few studies related with the association between Chlamydiaceae and schizophrenia, and within the framework of Hill’s criteria, the majority of the evidence may appear to support a probable association between Chlamydiaceae and schizophrenia
Summary
The acknowledgement that pathogenic microorganisms can cause chronic diseases has provided a new perspective on infectious diseases. Schizophrenic psychosis has been proposed to arise as a result of infection with other neurotropic organisms, such as Rubella virus, influenza virus, and HSV-2, CMV, T. gondii have been documented to lead to increased risks in different study populations and they are especially intracellular pathogens showing neurotrophic features and triggering similar immunological pathways [39]. These findings suggest that, in the case of human psychiatric diseases, infections caused by neurotropic organisms are likely to display analogy
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