Evidence suggests that pathogen-associated pattern recognition receptors (Toll-like receptors, TLRs) are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. TLRs are important in both peripheral immune responses and neuronal plasticity. However, the relationship between peripheral TLR expression and regional brain volumes is unknown in schizophrenia. We therefore assessed 30 drug-naïve, first-episode patients with schizophrenia. TLR4+/TLR1+ monocytes were measured using flow-cytometry. High resolution magnetic resonance images (T1 MRI) were obtained and analyzed with FreeSurfer. Results revealed significant negative correlations between the percentage of TLR4+ monocytes, mean fluorescent intensities, and brain volumes in frontal and anterior cingulate regions. The measures of TLR1+ monocytes did not show significant relationships with regional brain volumes. These results raise the possibility that abnormal TLR-activation is associated with decreased brain volumes in schizophrenia.

[The disease process in psychiatric patients who contracted SARS-CoV-2 infection might become more severe because of their impaired general health, comorbidities and unhealthy lifestyle. However, among all psychiatric conditions statistically significant correlation with severe and lethal outcome have been found only in schizophrenia with possible association of multiple immune dysfunctions. While the antipsychotic clozapine used in treatment resistant schizophrenia seems to decrease the likelihood of recovery of patients who underwent COVID-19 infection, antidepressants treatment for major depression may result in more favourable outcome. Mainly the antidepressant fluvoxamine has been reliably found effective by inhi­biting cytokine storms observed in some COVID-19 infected patients.]

Objective - To compare the intensity and the profile of psychotic symptoms and the characteristics of parental bonding of male schizophrenia patients with a history of homicide and those without a history of violent behaviour. Clinical question - We hypothesized more intense psychotic symptoms, especially positive symptoms as signs of a more severe psychopathology in the background of homicidal behaviour. We also hypothesized a more negatively perceived pattern (less Care more Overprotection) of parental bonding in the case of homicidal schizophrenia patients than in non-violent patients and non-violent healthy controls. Method and subjects - Symptom severity and symptom profiles were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in a group of male schizophrenia patients (n=22) with the history of committed or attempted homicide, and another group (n=19) of male schizophrenia patients without a history of violent behaviour. Care- and Overprotection were assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) in a third group of non-violent healthy controls (n=20), too. Results - Positive, negative and general psychopathology symptoms in the homicidal schizophrenia group were significantly (p<0.005) more severe than in the non-violent schizophrenia group. Non-violent schizophrenia patients scored lower on Care and higher on Overprotection than violent patients and healthy controls. Homicidal schizophrenia patients showed a pattern similar to the one in the healthy control group. Conclusions - It seems imperative to register intense positive psychotic symptoms as predictive markers for later violent behaviour. In the subgroup of male homicidal schizophrenia patients negatively experienced parental bonding does not appear to be major contributing factor to later homicidal behaviour.

[Background - Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder of poorly understood etiology, characterized by high heritability, multifactorial inheritance and high heterogeneity. Multilocus associaton methods may reduce the genetic heterogeneity and improve the probability of replication between analyses. Objectives - The aims of our study were twofold: 1. To analyse genetic risk factors of schizophrenia by using multilocus genetic tests. 2. To assess the replication probability attributable to the various multilocus tests. Subjects - Discovery set: case-parent trios of unaffected parents and affected probands with a DSM-IV schizophrenia diagnosis (n=16); replication set: schizophrenia cases and unaffected controls (n=5337). Methods - Associations of single nucleotide and indel markers were transferred to gene- and geneset-based associations, furthermore to geneset-enrichment tests and functional annotation cluster analyses in a two-staged designs. Associations with p<0.1 from the discovery set were tested in the replication sample. Familywise p-value correction for multiple comparisons were performed during the replication step. Results - After correction for multiplicity, no significant association or enrichment were detected for gene-based nor canonical pathway analyses, but significant association of the 14q31 cytoband and enrichments of the 5q31 and Xq13 cytobands were found (p_corr: 0.002, 0.006 and 0.048, respectively). Functional annotation clustering yielded statistically significant enrichment scores for clusters of splicing/alternative splicing, neurodevelopment and embryonic development. Improvements in replication probabilty were found with increased test complexity (P_rep: 0, 0.015, 0.21). Conclusions - Our results corroborate the involvement of neurodevelopment, synaptic plasticity and immune mechanisms in the etiology of schizophrenia. Also, our findings indicated improvement of replication probability by using multilocus genetic analyses. ]

[A 44-year-old male patient was hospitalised with paranoid schizophrenia in 1985. Depot neuroleptic treatment was started which successfully prevented further psychotic relapses for the next ten years. His myasthenia gravis started with bulbar signs in 1997 and the symptoms soon became generalized. The diagnosis of myasthenia gravis was confirmed by electromyography, by positive anticholinesterase test and by the detection of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies in the serum. Mediastinal CT examination showed enlarged hilar lymph nodes on the left but no thymic pathology was observed. Mediastinoscopy was performed and biopsies were obtained from the affected nodes. Histology revealed sarcoidosis. The patient suffered respiratory crisis following the thoracic intervention (in September 1998). Combined oral corticosteroid (64 mg methylprednisolone/e.o.d.) and azathioprine (150 mg/day) treatment regimen was initiated and complete remission took place in both the myasthenic symptoms and the sarcoidosis. The follow-up CT scans showed no mediastinal pathology (January 2000). During steroid treatment a transient psychotic relapse occured which was successfully managed by supplemental haloperidol medication added to his regular depot neuroleptics. The patient currently takes 150 mg/day azathioprine and receives 40 mg/month flupentixol depot im. His physical and mental status are stable and he has been completely symptome free in the last 24 months. The association of myasthenia gravis and sarcoidosis is very rare. To our best knowledge no case has been reported of a patient suffering from myasthenia gravis, sarcoidosis, and schizophrenia at the same time.]