VIRUSES AND SCHIZOPHRENIA

A viral hypothesis for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia has been unde r serious consideration for more than 70 years. To date, attempts have failed to identify a specific virus which contributes to the aetiolog y of the disorder. There has, however, been a recent resurgence of int erest in a possible relationship between viral illness and schizophren ia. This renewed attention is the result of epidemiological evidence s uggesting an excess of winter births in patients with schizophrenia, i ndications of foetal insults in persons who develop schizophrenia and an association between foetal exposure to the influenza virus and the subsequent development of schizophrenia. Advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of viral diseases and the development of sophi sticated techniques to study them have resulted in more complex viral hypotheses of schizophrenic aetiology, such as viral disruption of nor mal neurodevelopment, viral induced autoimmunity and retroviral integr ation. These hypotheses are now beginning to be tested experimentally.