Melinda Wenner
Scientific American
April 2008

• Mental illnesses once thought to be the result of neurological or psychological defects may be caused by viral or microbial infections.
• The strongest evidence links schizophrenia to prenatal influenza infection; pregnant women who become ill with the flu are more likely to give birth to children who will develop schizophrenia.
• The body’s immune reaction, rather than the infections themselves, may be to blame for the resulting brain damage and psychiatric symptoms.
• Understanding the relation between infections and psychiatric disorders may someday allow us to prevent mental illness using drugs or vaccines.

Read entire article: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=infected-with-insanity

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Tags: hallucinations, influenza, mental disorders, mental illness, psychosis, schizophrenia, vaccines

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