"Indication for Ganciclovir Therapy in a Schizophrenic Patient"
Abstract of Presentation at the 4th Symposium on
the Neurovirology and Neuroimmunology of
Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder
Maryland, November 1998

Authors: W. John Martin (presentor), Jeffrey C. Kopelson, Donovan J. Anderson

Blood cultures from hospitalized patients with severe psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and manic depression, have confirmed the high prevalence of infection with stealth viruses. These agents induce a characteristic, vacuolating, cytopathic effect in normal fibroblasts. Similar cytopathic effects have been seen in cultures of blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and tissue biopsies of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and with more overt neurological illnesses. In preliminary studies involving small groups of non-psychotic patients, clinical improvements have been noted following a brief course of ganciclovir therapy. This observation is consistent with data that at least some stealth viruses contain herpesvirus-related sequences. It is therefore proposed to treat a stealth virus culture-positive, psychotic patient with a 21-day course of ganciclovir administered intravenously. The particular patient’s illness began in 1987 at age 17, when she was briefly hospitalized for a mononucleosis-like syndrome. Her personality gradually changed as she became increasingly depressed and lethargic, leading to a diagnosis of CFS. She also experienced recurrent rage and panic reactions. Paranoid delusional thinking and both visual and auditory hallucinations led in 1990 to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Hypothyroidism, complex partial seizures, tremor, and dementia have also been documented. The patient has been under custodial care in locked facilities for the last several years. During the planned ganciclovir therapy, she will be followed for signs of clinical improvement in sensory, motor, autonomic, cognitive, and emotional functions. Her blood will also be monitored using a quantitative stealth virus culture assay.

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