Microscopy Studies in Mental Health Research

"Maximum decrease in the number of biconcave diskocytes and accumulation of transitional, prehemolytic, and degenerative forms of erythrocytes were found in schizophrenia." Novitskii VV, Ryazantseva NV, Semin IR. Siberian Medical University, Tomsk. ryazan@mail.tomsknet.ru

The Russians have done brilliant research using the electron microscope (2, 3).

Russian Research

A Siberian group has demonstrated abnormalities in red cells in schizophrenics who were not on any medication (4).

Psychiatric Drugs

"Reserpine has been used clinically to control hypertension, schizophrenia, insomnia and insanity. The use of this drug, however, has been limited because of its side effects which include oxidative damage to organs, including the liver." Al-Bloushi S, Safer AM, Afzal M, Mousa SA. Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969- SAFAT- State of Kuwait

This quote is from Ref. 5. Unfortunately there are adverse eye side effects with phenothiazines (6). These drugs are so old that it is amazing that they are still being used. Unfortunately the newer drugs also have bad side effects, but the side effects are different.

Abnormal Lymphocytes in Schizophrenia

The Russians do not appear to use depression as a diagnosis. I have never seen a Russian article on depression or on bipolar illness. They seem to classify all psychiatric patients as different types of schizophrenia.

Bonartsev, a veteran Russian researcher and a brilliant one, reported atypical lymphocytes in schizophrenia. This should not necessarily be interpreted as a sign of autoimmune disease because almost every type of cell studied in schizophrenia has come out abnormal. Platelets are abnormal and they have nothing to do with the immune system. This is also true of red blood cells, neurons, glia, etc.

"Activated lymphocytes" were seen. This means that the rough endoplasmic reticulum was actively synthesizing proteins from amino acids. This might happen if amino acids were flooding the cells. The cell would have to metabolize the amino acids or burst. This theory would also explain the prehemolytic erythrocytes (spherical) seen by the Siberian group. Normal red blood cells are biconcave disks. The erthyrocytes were swollen.

Brain Pathology

The Russians have reported many positive findings in the brain (8). Unfortunately a lot of their reports appear to have never been translated into English.

Unfortunately psychiatric drugs can produce neuropathology (9). For this reason some of the earlier work such as that of Southard have great value because they were done before the invention of these drugs.

"Aside from the left-sidedness of the lesions and internal hydrocephalus, very striking is the preference of these changes to occupy the association centres of Fleschig." Southard (1915)

The above quote is from Ref. 10.

There has been an ongoing battle as to whether schizophrenia is a developmental disease or a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer's disease. Stevens (12) reported gliosis, which is seen in neurodegenerative diseases. The battle seems to have been settled by Ref. 14, which reported ongoing tissue loss in schizophrenia. This would not be seen in a developmental disorder. Harrison (10) of Oxford had supported a developmental disorder.

Stevens also reported corpora amylacea, as well as other positive findings. These are starch bodies in the brain. In number they signify a slowing of glucose metabolism, which is vital to the brain. Stevens found them in number in schizophrenia.

Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together

This author has attempted to put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together for schizophrenia. There is an impairment of brain glucose metabolism. Some workers have reported glycogen deposits in muscles, brain, and platelets. Swollen platelets have been reported by Mesa of Cuba. Swollen neurons have been reported by Russian scientists.

Mesa has reported fat deposits in degenerating neurons in the brain. All of this data is consistent with amino acids flooding the cells. By why would this happen? It may be a kind of emergency response. Schizophrenia may be a perpetual state of brain emergency. Needless to say, the brain is making a mistake. It is a series of metabolic errors, one error causing the next. An emergency chemical is possibly causing the amino acids to flood the cells, somehow thinking that the cells need them.

This synthesis is explained in the articles I have published at Associated Content. I have not referenced all of them because I have published hundreds of them. See Refs. 15-18. For the rest of the articles just search at Associated Content. Search for Craig Olson. Many are about schizophrenia, but also some are about affective disorders.

Conclusions

I favor the use of nutrition, including supplements. I favor a diet very low in amino acids for schizophrenia as well as other mental disorders. My view is that schizophrenia and depression are similar. However, sugar is bad because it has the effect of pumping more tryptophan into the brain. Sugar causes the release of insulin, which causes the cells to eat.

References

1. Agressologie. 1973 Aug;14(4):275-9.

2. Klin Lab Diagn. 2001 Apr;(4):43-6.Links
[Surface relief of peripheral blood erythrocytes in patient with schizophrenia (scanning electron microscopy data)]

3. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2000 Oct;130(10):979-82.Links
Surface architectonics of peripheral blood erythrocytes in patients with mental diseases.Novitskii VV, Ryazantseva NV, Semin IR.
Siberian Medical University, Tomsk. ryazan@mail.tomsknet.ru

4.Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2002;102(6):36-42.Links
[Structural and metabolic status and functional properties of erythrocytes in schizophrenic patients]

5. J Toxicol Sci. 2009 Feb;34(1):77-87. Links
Green tea modulates reserpine toxicity in animal models.Al-Bloushi S, Safer AM, Afzal M, Mousa SA.

6. In vivo observations of chlorpromazine ocular deposits in a patient on long-term chlorpromazine therapy. Razeghinejad MR, Nowroozzadeh MH, Zamani M, Amini N. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2008 Aug;36(6):560-3.

7.

Bonartsev PD.

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008;108(9):62-8. Russian.

8. [Pathology of oligodendroglia and myelinated fibers of the hippocampus in schizophrenia (an ultrastructural and morphometric study)] Kolomeets NS, Uranova NA. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2008;108(8):52-60. Russian.

9. The neuropathological effects of antipsychotic drugs. Harrison PJ. Schizophr Res. 1999 Nov 30;40(2):87-99. Review.

10. The neuropathology of schizophrenia. A critical review of the data and their interpretation. Harrison PJ. Brain. 1999 Apr;122 ( Pt 4):593-624. Review.

11. Southard EE. On the topographical distribution of cortex lesions and anomalies in dementia praecox, with some account of their functional significance. Am J Insan 1915; 71: 603-71.

12. Stevens JR. Neuropathology of schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1982; 39: 1131-9.

13. Stevens JR. An anatomy of schizophrenia? Arch Gen Psychiatry 1973; 29: 177-89.

14. Progressive Brain Volume Changes and the Clinical Course of Schizophrenia in Men: A Longitudinal Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Mathalon et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 2001;58:148-157.

15. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1839047/medical_breakthroughs_in_psychiatry.html

16. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1835535/the_latest_research_in_psychiatry.html

17. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1832155/tryptophan_in_medicine.html

18. www.associatedcontent.com/article/1828631/alternative_medicine_in_psychiatry.html