THE OVERLOOKED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND MENTAL SYMPTOMS (fwd)

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THE OVERLOOKED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND MENTAL SYMPTOMS

http://www.newswithviews.com/Howenstine/james16.htm

By Dr. Howenstine, MD.

September 13, 2004

NewsWithViews.com

Psychiatric disease should be diagnosed only after careful exclusion of medical

conditions that could produce the patients symptoms. Unfortunately very few

mental health care providers are aware of the multitude of circumstances in

which mental symptoms are precipitated by an infectious illness. A valuable clue

that a mental problem may be infectious rather than psychiatric is sudden onset

in a previously stable individual.

Dr. Fink, past president of the American Psychiatric Association, has

acknowledged that every psychiatric disorder in the Psychiatric Diagnostic

Symptoms Manual IV (DSM-!V) can be caused by Lyme Disease. This proves that

every known psychiatric disorder can be caused by an infection (Borrelia

burgdorfi Bb spirochete). So far all cases of Alzheimer's disease tested for the

Borrelia burgdorfi Bb spirochete, which causes Lyme Disease, have tested

positive.

Conventional medical practice in the United States largely ignores the

possibility of parasitic disease. There are several reasons for this:

a.. When a disease is never diagnosed it is easy to assume that it does not

exist. Parasites are often overlooked in the U.S.

b.. There is a shortage of technicians who are skilled in identifying

parasitic organisms.

c.. Spending one's day studying microscopic sample of stool specimens

probably does not attract very many laboratory personnel.

d.. There is a common misconception that parasitic problems are primarily

found in tropical countries and are rare in countries like the U.S.A.

To illustrate how many health care practitioners can be fooled by parasitic

disease consider the case of Carolyn Razor. Upbeat, healthy, energetic,

psychologist Carolyn Raser returned from a vacation in Bhutun with severe

depression, exhaustion, and such swelling in her joints she was unable to open a

hotel room door. Her third M.D. diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis and started

multiple drugs. Her depression, lethargy and exhaustion persisted after 100

treatments by assorted acupuncturists, chiropractors, and rehabilitation

specialists. A call to the Research Institute for Infectious Mental Illness led

to the discovery of three protozoan parasites and a compromised secretory IGA

system. Three weeks after eliminating her infection she was no longer depressed,

her exhaustion was gone and her zest for life had been restored.

To make the proper diagnosis of psychiatric symptoms even more complex it is now

well established that the overgrowth of candida (yeast) organisms, fungi,

mycoplasma, and dangerous anerobic organiasms in the intestinal tract after

antibiotic therapy, high sugar intake, and illnesses which injure the lining of

the intestine can cause impaired brain function (seizures, confusion, poor

memory, depression, learning difficulties, headaches and short attention span).

These brain symptoms are caused by absoption of neurotoxic substances produced

by mycoplasma, fungi, borrelia, yeast and anerobic organisms. These neurotoxic

substances also commonly cause injury to the hypothalamus which leads to

impaired production of endocrine hormones. Therefore, patients with intestinal

pathogen overgrowth often manifest impaired function of the thyroid gland

(hypothyroidism) and adrenal insufficiency ('s Disease). Another factor

that may contribute to this hormonal failure is the consumption of cholesterol

by mycoplasma in nervous tissue which decreases the building substance

(cholesterol) needed to make estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, aldactone,

and cortisone. Persons with hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland) often do

not manifest fever when they have infections which may lead the clinician away

from considering an infectious problem.

The psychological treatment of chronic mental illness is often lengthy and of

marginal value. Strick, Clinical Research Director of the Research

Institute for Infectious Mental Illness, has gathered a large amount of

information about how commonly mental symptoms are not appreciated to be

originating[1] from infectious problems.

Four types of infectious problems are capable of producing mental symptoms.

These are infections well recognized for causing psychiatric problems

(pneumonia, urinary tract infections, sepsis, malaria, Legionaires Disease,

syphilis, chlamydia, typhoid fever, diphtheria, HIV, rheumatic fever and

herpes). Research done at s Hokins Children's Center and published in the

Archives of General Psychiatry in 2001 disclosed that mothers with evidence of

Herpes Simplex Type 2 infection during pregnancy were 6 times more likely to

have a child who later developed schizophrenia than mothers without herpes

infections.

Parasitic infections which invade the brain (neurocysticerccosis) manifest

depression and psychosis in more than 65 % of cases. These tapeworms produce

cysts, swelling, and encephalitis in brains of patients. Other parasitic

infections can produce psychiatric symptoms without direct brain invasion

(giardia, ascaris psychosis, trichinosis, Lyme Disease) which clear after

effective therapy. Meningitis or encephalitis was found in 24 % of 1300 cases of

trichinosis reported from Germany.

Acute infection with Toxoplasmosis Gondi can produce personality changes and

psychosis including delusions and auditory hallucinations. T. Gondii can alter

behavior, neurotransmitter function and accounts for approximately 25 % of

chorioretinitis usually contracted congenitally. A large study of mentally

handicapped persons revealed that the incidence of t.gondii infection in

schizophrenic patients was twice that of control subjects. German research has

revealed that first onset schizophrenia patients have a 42 % incidence of

antibodies to toxoplasma compared to 11 % in control subjects. T. Gondi usually

is spread to humans from cats. Two studies have revealed that exposure to cats

in childhood was a risk factor for the development of schizophrenia.

Two of the drugs used to treat psychosis and bipolar disorder (Haldol and

Valproic Acid) inhibit the growth of t. gondii in cerebrospinal fluid and blood

at concentrations below that being treated with these therapies suggesting that

improved mental status might actually be due to killing t. gondii not

anti-psychotic effects. The antipsychotic drugs thorazine, haldol and clozapine

inhibit viral replication. Patients with recent onset of schizophrenia have a

400 % increase in reverse transcripyase activity in their cerebrospinal fluid

which is seen in patients with infectious retroviruses. Cerebrospinal fluid CSF

from these recent onset schizophrenia patients inoculated into New World Monkey

cell lines caused a ten fold increase in reverse transcriptase activity

suggesting that this injected CSF contained a replicating virus. Dr. Darren Hart

of Tulane Univ. Medical School found evidence of antibodies to retrovirus in the

blood of half the patients he tested who had a diagnosis of schizophrenia and

bipolar disorder. Malhotra has demonstrated that the absence of CCR5?32

homozygotes in more than 200 schizophrenic patients sharply increased the

susceptibility to retroviral infection. These pieces of evidence have led s

Hopkins virologist Yolken and Psychiatry Professor Dr. E. Fuller Torrey

to believe that toxoplasmosis is one of several infectious agents that cause

most cases of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Dr. Torrey noted that

schizophrenia and bipolar disorder went from rare diseases in the late 19th

century to common as cat ownership became popular. Yolken designed studies that

showed that mothers of children who later developed psychosis were 4.5 times

more likely to have antibodies to toxoplasmosis than mothers of healthy

children. Yolken also learned that patients with schizophrenia of average

duration of more than 22 years who also tested positive for cytomegalovirus (21

patients) experienced significant improvement in psychiatric symptoms when

treated with Valacyclovir[2] an antiviral drug for 8 weeks.

Streptococcal infections have been followed in some children by the abrupt onset

of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder within a few weeks.

Use of the antiviral drug Amantadine has produced greatly shortened

hospitalizations and rapid remission of psychiatric symptoms in Germany when

given to patients testing positive for Borna Disease Virus BDV. Smaller studies

in the U.S. disclosed that up to half of Bipolar and Schizophrenic patients test

positive for BDV compared to none in healthy controls.

For obvious reasons toxoplasmosis has attracted the most attention. However,

many other infectious agents particularly parasitic infections can disable

normal mental function by depleting the host of essential nutrients, interfering

with enzyme and neuroimmune function, and releasing massive amounts of waste

products, enteric poisons, and toxins which disable brain metabolism. Mature

tapeworms can lay a million eggs a day and roundworms, which afflict 25 % of the

worlds population, can lay 200,000 eggs daily. The brain requires 25 % of the

body's oxygen, nutrients, and glucose even though it makes up only 3 % of the

body's weight. Mental patients were found to have a 53.8 % incidence of

parasitic infection in a 2 year study conducted by the Univ. of Ancona involving

238 inpatient residents in 4 Italian psychiatric institutions.

Cognitive dysfunction and chronic emotional stress with symptoms of apathy,

exhaustion, confusion, poor appetite, memory loss, nervous stomach, social

withdrawal, loss of sex drive and motivation are often attributed to depression

when they were actually caused by infection.

Many parasitic infections escape diagnosis because standard stool parasite

studies pick up only 10 % of active infections. At times this is caused by

inconsistent shedding patterns and other cases are missed because the parasites

are outside the intestine. The World Health Organization states that 2 billion

people have worms but these are rarely seen in stool exams. Many restaurants are

staffed by persons from foreign lands where parasites are common so exposure to

parasitic infection can occur in most U.S. restaurants.

To overcome these failures the Research Institute for Infectious Mental Illness

suggests ova and parasite microscopy, multifluid antigen and antibody detection,

stool cultures, enzyme immunoassays, imaging techniques, and extensive

evaluation of the patients history and clinical information to discover chronic

infections. Patients diagnosed as chronic candidiasis (yeast) may actually have

more significant infections which are preventing long term cure. Curing hidden

infections often results in return of normal brain metabolism. Fever and

antibody elevation often disappear in patients with neurotoxin injury to the

immune system and thyroid hypofunction caused by hypothalamic toxicity.

Rebuilding the host's immune system and restoring integrity of the intestines

will help prevent relapse. Care to not provide premature nutritional supplements

that are growth factors for certain microorganisms is vital. Screening tests for

heavy metal toxicity, environmental chemical exposure, molds, electromagnetic

stressors, abnormal glucose metabolism, brain allergies, food sensitivities,

hormone imbalances, neurotransmitter imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, ph

abnormalities, and dietary correction can improve cognitive function.

In my opinion the arguments about the failure to diagnose infections causing

brain symptoms presented by Strick are persuasive and sound. Most

psychiatric consultations almost certainly are not concerned with exploring

diagnostic considerations outside the psychiatric realm. This whole field of

psychiatric diagnosis needs to be reconsidered in view of the strong evidence

that toxoplasmosis, parasitic infections, borrelia burgdorfi, candida, borna

disease virus, streptococcus, and other infectious agents are capable of

producing impaired brain function with symptoms that will generate a psychiatric

diagnosis in a conventional psychiatrist's office. There is a real possibility

that many, perhaps most patients, have an infectious illness that is correctable

not a permanent psychiatric impairment. This failure to discover infectious

causes for psychiatric symptoms is tragic because many persons are vegetating in

psychiatric facilities for the remainder of their lives, instead of recovering

full health when their infection is cured. My suggestion to readers is to

consider exploring a consultation with the Research Institute for Infectious

Mental Illness before accepting a psychiatric diagnosis that is likely to lead

to a lengthy and minimally effective therapy.

The Research Institute for Infectious Mental Illness is the first comprehensive

institute of its kind in the U.S. They provide testing, clinical and consulting

services to clients all over the world and help in educating professional

persons. Phone consultations are offered. by calling 800-699-2466 then press

pound (#) 831-425-5555 (patient scheduling only) or by e-mailing

riimi@.... The director is Strick and the institute is in Santa

Cruz, Ca.

Footnotes:

1 Strick, Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients April 2004 pg. 123-125

2 Yolken, American Journal of Psychiatry December 2003

© 2004 Dr. Howenstine -