Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Autoimmune Disorders May Cause "Mental" Illness

This may be a hugely important breakthrough. Dr. Sander Markx at Columbia successfully treated a woman who was catatonic for two decades and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, using a regimen for lupus. The story was in the Washington Post and Essence Magazine. 

Read about the work at Precision Medicine.

“The last several years have marked a turning point in our understanding of the genetics of behavioral brain disorders including traditionally thought of mental illness (like mood, anxiety, psychotic and eating disorders), intellectual disturbances (such as autism, learning disabilities, ADHD) and addictions (to alcohol, prescription, and recreational drugs). The increasing sophistication of genomic medicine has enabled us to reliably map genetic mutations that underlie debilitating psychiatric disorders of individual patients. The diagnostic clinic for precision neuropsychiatry is positioned to follow up on these findings, efficiently study the biologic consequences of these mutations and screen for novel treatments for psychiatric disorders for which there are currently few viable treatment options available, such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, and mood disorders.”