THE PROFILE OF C-REACTIVE PROTEINS IN FUNCTIONAL PSYCHOTIC STATES IN A COHORT IN NIGERIA

Based on the findings of previous work involving the measurement of 8 acute-phase proteins in 8 subjects receiving electroconvulsive therapy , we assayed the levels of C-reactive proteins (CRP) in 40 functional psychotic subjects, 37 of whom were consecutive admissions at the psyc hiatric ward. From 16 subjects, a second sample of blood for assay of CRP was collected 6 weeks after discharge from hospital, when the pati ents were no longer experiencing psychotic symptoms. The patients and controls were screened for tissue injury, inflammatory conditions and other diseases. We found that 14 (35%) of the psychiatric patients and only one (2%) of 50 normal control subjects had detectable levels of CRP. At follow-up, none of the 7 patients in whom CRP had been earlier detectable had measurable levels of CRP in the non-psychotic state. T he presence of CRP was not related to biochemical indexes of nutrition al status (total proteins and albumin), nor did clinical variables suc h as type of psychosis, pacing in acutely disturbed patients, use of i ntramuscular injections or diet and drugs distinguish the two groups o f patients. It is suggested that the presence of CRP in the psychotic state is probably a state-dependent expression of nonspecific humoral immune alteration in subjects in whom more specific tests could reveal some immune alteration.