Autoimmunity in psychotic disorders. Where we stand, challenges and opportunities

Publication date: Available online 16 July 2019Source: Autoimmunity ReviewsAuthor(s): Marina Mané-Damas, Carolin Hoffmann, Shenghua Zong, Amanda Tan, Peter C. Molenaar, Mario Losen, Pilar Martinez-MartínezAbstractPsychotic disorders are debilitating mental illnesses associated with abnormalities in various neurotransmitter systems. The development of disease-modifing therapies has been hampered by the mostly unknown etiologies and pathophysiologies.Autoantibodies against several neuronal antigens are responsible for autoimmune encephalitis. These autoantibodies disrupt neurotransmission within the brain, resulting in a wide range of psychiatric and neurologic manifestations, including psychosis. The overlap of symptoms of autoimmune encephalitis with psychotic disorders raised the question as to whether autoantibodies against a number of receptors, ion channel and associated proteins could ultimately be responsible for some forms of psychosis. Here we review our current knowledge, on antibody mediated autoimmunity in psychotic disorders, the different diagnostic methods and their limitations, as well as varying therapeutic approaches targeting the immune system.
Source: Autoimmunity Reviews - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research