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A new small-scale study has found a link between Bartonella henselae bacterial infection (cat scratch disease) and schizophrenia.
Researchers tested the blood of patients with schizophrenia as well as healthy controls for evidence of Bartonella DNA.
They found that 12 of the 17 schizophrenia patients had Bartonella DNA in their blood, compared to just one member of the control group of 13 people.
This is the first study examining the potential role of Bartonella in schizophrenia.
A new more sensitive Bartonella test made called droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) this discovery possible:
Article: Study finds evidence of Bartonella infection in schizophrenia patients
Study: Schizophrenia and Bartonella spp. Infection: A Pilot Case-Control Study
Bartonella bacteria can cause fatigue, brain fog and memory loss.
Symptoms of chronic Bartonella infection (bartonellosis) include relapsing low grade fever, blurred vision, photophobia, eye irritation, malaise, decreased appetite, and aches. Bartonella sometimes triggers psychiatric manifestations, such as anger, agitation, panic disorder, and treatment-resistant depression. Ref: 1
Bartonella testing has a high false negative rate, but one sign that you have Bartonella is the characteristic striated rash this bacterium can cause on the skin.
Researchers tested the blood of patients with schizophrenia as well as healthy controls for evidence of Bartonella DNA.
They found that 12 of the 17 schizophrenia patients had Bartonella DNA in their blood, compared to just one member of the control group of 13 people.
This is the first study examining the potential role of Bartonella in schizophrenia.
A new more sensitive Bartonella test made called droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) this discovery possible:
Source: Is cat-scratch disease linked to schizophrenia?"Bartonella ddPCR, a very new diagnostic technology, provides a more sensitive molecular test than we’ve previously had access to," said paper author and infectious disease expert Ed Breitschwerdt of the North Carolina State University.
"If we had not used ddPCR to test this cohort of individuals, we would not have found Bartonella DNA in any of the participants, either case or control."
Article: Study finds evidence of Bartonella infection in schizophrenia patients
Study: Schizophrenia and Bartonella spp. Infection: A Pilot Case-Control Study
Bartonella bacteria can cause fatigue, brain fog and memory loss.
Symptoms of chronic Bartonella infection (bartonellosis) include relapsing low grade fever, blurred vision, photophobia, eye irritation, malaise, decreased appetite, and aches. Bartonella sometimes triggers psychiatric manifestations, such as anger, agitation, panic disorder, and treatment-resistant depression. Ref: 1
Bartonella testing has a high false negative rate, but one sign that you have Bartonella is the characteristic striated rash this bacterium can cause on the skin.