A Serological Study on Mentally Ill Patients With Particular Reference to the Prevalence of Herpes Virus Infections

The prevalence of antibodies against members of the herpes virus group and the measles virus was studied in 539 patients with various psychiatric disorders. Patients with unipolar or bipolar depressive psychoses and senile or atherosclerotic dementia had a significantly higher incidence of herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus antibodies than was found in schizophrenics or patients with other psychiatric disorders or in groups of healthy controls. In addition, the occurrence of neutralizing antibodies against herpes simplex virus type 1 was examined in 9 criminals with a history of aggressive behaviour and in 8 criminals with psychiatric disorders who were not considered to be aggressive. No statistically significant difference in prevalence or titres between the two groups was demonstrable. The results are discussed against the background of recent findings of the effect of virus infections on brain monoamine metabolism and observations of viral latency in CNS infections.