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Journal of Timely Topics in Clinical Immunology | Volume 2
July 26-28, 2018 | Moscow, Russia
Immunology
11
th
Annual Congress on
Electron microscopic studies of brain tissue in fetuses from schizophrenic mothers
Segundo Mesa Castillo
Psychiatric Hospital of Havana, Cuba
T
he neurodevelopmental theory in the aetiology of
schizophrenia is considered one of the most consistent at
present. Evidence from epidemiological and neuropathological
studies indicates that the pathogenic process that culminate in
the development of schizophrenia are initiated early in life and
has been associated with a variety of prenatal environmental
insults to the developing brain, including infection. Although the
infectiousagentshavebeenproposedasoneoftheriskfactorsfor
schizophrenia the data on the association of a specific infectious
agent with prenatal brain evidence is absent. Understanding of
the structural abnormalities would allow a better identification
of neurodevelopmental processes that contribute to risk for
schizophrenia. We have hypothesized that at ultra-high-risk
fetuses would have alterations at cellular level that would let
us differentiate them to the comparison subjects. A reappraisal
of our ultrastructural studies carried out in samples of the
left temporal lobe of foetuses at ultra-high risk of developing
schizophreniaispresented.Thefindingsobtainedarecompatible
with an active infection of the central nervous systemby herpes
simplex hominis type I [HSV1] virus. The present results are the
first direct evidence that demonstrate the presence of this virus
in the central nervous system of foetuses from schizophrenic
mothers in the critical period of foetal development. The
importance of this finding can have practical applications in
the prevention of the illness keeping in mind its direct relation
to the aetiology and physiopathology of schizophrenia.
e:
segundo@infomed.sld.cu