July 2 - Researchers have uncovered more clues to the complex mix of environmental and genetic factors that lead to schizophrenia. In a report published in the July issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers from Finland asserted that in some cases schizophrenia may arise from prenatal exposure to the virus that causes polio. In these conditions, which include rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, the immune system mistakenly attacks the body s own normal cells.
Schizophrenia is a mental illness that impairs thinking, perception and emotion.
People with the disorder experience hallucinations, delusions, mood swings and a generally altered view of reality. Although schizophrenia does not usually become apparent until the late teen years or the 20s, most researchers suspect that the disorder is rooted in early brain development. It is well-established that a family history of schizophrenia increases a person s risk for developing the condition but environmental factors also appear to play a role. Whether prenatal exposure to the poliovirus is one of these factors was the subject of the Finnish study, led by Dr. Jaana Suvisaari of the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki. Some experts have long suspected such a connection because cases of schizophrenia declined in many countries after the polio vaccine was introduced.