Cambridge Health Alliance, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Psychiatry Res. 2021 Jan;295:113573. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113573. Epub 2020 Nov 16.
The viral hypothesis for schizophrenia has persisted for decades, initially supported by observed increases in psychoses subsequent to the influenza pandemic of the early twentieth century, and then later by evidence of elevated viral antibody titres particularly in schizophrenia patient populations. Several research studies have also focused on maternal infections during the second trimester of pregnancy and their long-term effects on fetal brain development, ultimately leading to schizophrenia. No specific virus has been implicated although a handful have received increasing attention. The current pandemic spreading the SARS CoV-2 corona virus world-wide is now showing anecdotal evidence of psychoses newly developing post viral exposure, implicating neuronal inflammation in crucial areas of the brain that could initiate psychotic symptoms. Time will tell if epidemiological data will, similar to the 1918 influenza pandemic, show that schizophrenia spectrum disorders increase after serious viral infections.
精神分裂症的病毒假说已经存在了几十年，最初是由二十世纪初流感大流行后观察到的精神病发病率增加所支持，后来又有证据表明病毒抗体滴度升高，特别是在精神分裂症患者群体中。几项研究还集中在妊娠中期的母体感染及其对胎儿大脑发育的长期影响，最终导致精神分裂症。尽管有少数几种病毒受到越来越多的关注，但没有一种特定的病毒与之相关。目前，在全球范围内传播的 SARS CoV-2 冠状病毒大流行，现在有一些轶事证据表明，新出现的病毒暴露后会出现精神病，这表明神经元炎症可能会引发关键大脑区域的精神病症状。时间将证明，如果流行病学数据与 1918 年流感大流行类似，是否会显示严重病毒感染后精神分裂症谱系障碍会增加。
