Schizophrenia Symptoms Vanish After Cancer Treatment in Rare Case, Fueling Autoimmune Psychosis Research
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - A woman with a twenty-year history of schizophrenia experienced a complete remission of her psychiatric symptoms following treatment for lymphoma adn chemotherapy with rituximab, a medication targeting antibodies, raising new questions about teh potential role of the immune system in mental illness. The case, detailed in a recent article in Piauí magazine by Rachel Aviv, highlights a growing field of research into “autoimmune psychosis,” a newly proposed category of disease where psychiatric symptoms are driven by the body’s own immune response.
As the initial 2007 discovery by Josep Dalmau of antibodies linked to psychosis, scientists have identified over twenty additional antibodies associated with psychiatric conditions. A 2020 article published in The Lancet Psychiatry, authored by 28 researchers, formally proposed “autoimmune psychosis” as a distinct condition - a milder, incomplete form of encephalitis presenting solely with psychiatric symptoms. Experts believe the known antibodies represent onyl a fraction of potential immune triggers affecting the brain.
Mary, the patient in question, began to improve after undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma, a potentially fatal cancer. Her daughter,Christine,questioned doctors,asking,”She has a twenty-year psychiatric history. Have you ever heard of anything like this? Could any of the medications have caused it?” Omid Heravi, one of mary’s oncologists, admitted the situation was perplexing, stating, “Medicine is very specialized; we don’t go into other areas.” He initially hypothesized a beneficial side effect of the cancer drugs, noting, “In medicine, not all side effects are negative.”
Christopher Bartley, a researcher at the National institute of Mental Health, suggests the twenty known antibodies are “a drop in the ocean,” and that numerous other antibody targets within the brain could be influencing perception and behavior. The case underscores the complex interplay between the immune system and mental health, and the potential for new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for individuals with treatment-resistant psychiatric illnesses.
Full story available at: https://piaui.folha.uol.com.br/materia/ela-tinha-esquizofrenia/
