Autoimmunity and psychosis

Abstract

Although it seems quite unusual to simultaneously discuss two different concepts of autoimmunity and psychosis, it is nowadays a rapidly developing interdisciplinary field of immunopsychiatry. As a new perspective of translational immunology, we have presented some recent findings on brain immunity and the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, previously considered only as a privileged site. In addition, different roles of neurotransmitters and interactions are considered in the context of cytokine networks, immune cells, and antibodies, which together give the clinical presentation of psychosis and guide future treatment. In this chapter, we have attempted to give an overview of the state-of-the-art in this field: how can infections, chronic inflammation, and autoimmunity may underlie the psychosis onset, the fact that autoimmunity and psychosis exists side-by-side through the frequent occurrence of somatic states, and the possibility that every repeated psychotic exacerbation could lead to autoimmunity.