A Blood Test for Schizophrenia

Mesa of Havana, Cuba has reported giant platelets with abnormal philopodia, large vacuoles, glycogen deposits, abnormal particles, etc. He claims that these findings are not due to medication. Mesa thinks that these results are due to a virus, but my opinion is different.

Mesa also found extensive pathology in the central nervous system, particularly the amygdala.

My Interpretation

Mesa found fat deposits, degenerating neurons, etc. This appears to kill the neurodevelopmental theory. The fat deposits would be explained if too much of some macronutrients were entering the cells.

The glycogen deposits suggest a slowing of glucose metabolism. The "giant" platelets again suggest that too much of some macronutrients are entering the cells. The "elephant feet" or giant philopodia are also consistent with the cell overeating.

Russian workers have reported hemolysis in schizophrenia, meaning the swelling and bursting of red blood cells. Why a virus would cause this is unclear. A toxic factor could cause a transport error resulting in the cell overeating certain cellular foods.

Membrane abnormalities were also reported by Mesa, many of whose articles and powerpoint presentations are in Spanish.

Conclusions

This appears to suggest some kind of a fasting diet to treat schizophrenia. Mesa himself suggests antiviral agents. His theory is similar to those of the American eccentric Dr. E. Fuller Torrey. However, Torrey recommends the usual antipsychotics, which are supposed to correct the metabolic errors. Since the drug companies do not understand the metabolic errors, this is a tall order.

In emergency situations the brain can burn amino acids instead of glucose. This would cause an accumulation of glycogen. Thus the cells may be overeating amino acids. The brain. Is only supposed to burn amino acids when the blood sugar is low because it makes ATP better when it burns glucose. This situation is seen in hypoglycemia and in starvation. The remarkable similarity of the symptoms of hypoglycemia to those of schizophrenia was pointed out by Adelle Davis, Carlton Fredericks, and some orthomolecular scientists (Wendell & Beebe, 1973). Unfortunately Davis is deceased.

My view is that Davis was correct. She thought that a special diet should be used for schizophrenia, and her diet was based on the Harris diet for hypoglycemia. My view is that schizophrenia, rather than being hypoglycemia, is a diabetes of the brain in which the brain is flooded with amino acids. This is a very bad situation. For one thing, certain amino acids, including glutamate and aspartate, are neurotransmitters.

Therefore my diet is different. I recommend a high fiber diet in which protein (amino acids) is restricted. The Harris diet, although good for hypoglycemia, is not exactly correct for schizophrenia. Another complexity is that tryptophan is pumped into the brain by insulin due to a complex mechanism. Therefore the release of insulin needs to be reduced. In other words, don't eat sugar. Foods with a low glycemic indices are best.

Reference

There is a powerpoint presentation on Mesa's test at the website www.wpanet.org, which is the website of the World Psychiatric Association. Click on the search button and search for either "Mesa" or Castillo". He uses both names. In Cuba the middle name may have more significance than it does in the US.