Borna disease virus and mental health: a cross-sectional study

Borna disease virus antibody and RNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of race horses and jockeys in Korea

OBJECTIVE

During the last two decades, Borna disease virus (BDV) has received much attention as a possible zoonotic agent, particularly as a cause of psychiatric disease. Although several studies have shown that BDV is present in Asia, BDV has not been detected in Korea. This study was designed to further investigate the presence of BDV infection in Korea.

METHODS

Blood samples were taken from 39 race horses and 48 jockeys. Antibody to BDV was detected by indirect immunofluorescence antibody test and RNA of BDV by real time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR).

RESULTS

No evidence of BDV was detected in either the horses or the jockeys group.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that BDV infection may not be endemic in Korea. Further studies with novel diagnostic tools are required to clarify the prevalence of BDV infection in Korea.

Borna disease virus (BDV) circulating immunocomplex positivity in addicted patients in the Czech Republic: a prospective cohort analysis

BACKGROUND

Borna disease virus (BDV) is an RNA virus belonging to the family Bornaviridae. Borna disease virus is a neurotropic virus that causes changes in mood, behaviour and cognition. BDV causes persistent infection of the central nervous system. Immune changes lead to activation of infection. Alcohol and drug dependence are associated with immune impairment.

METHODS

We examined the seropositivity of BDV circulating immunocomplexes (CIC) in patients with alcohol and drug dependence and healthy individuals (blood donors). We examined 41 addicted patients for the presence of BDV CIC in the serum by ELISA at the beginning of detoxification, and after eight weeks of abstinence. This is the first such study performed in patients with alcohol and drug dependence.

RESULTS

BDV CIC positivity was detected in 36.59% of addicted patients on day 0 and in 42.86% on day 56. The control group was 37.3% positive. However, we did not detect higher BDV CIC positivity in addicted patients in comparison with blood donors (p = 0.179). The significantly higher level of BDV CIC was associated with lower levels of GGT (gamma glutamyl transferase) (p = 0.027) and approached statistical significance with the lower age of addicted patients (p = 0.064). We did not find any association between BDV CIC positivity and other anamnestic and demographic characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study addicted patients did not have significantly higher levels of BDV CIC than the control group. The highest levels of BDV CIC were detected in patients with lower levels of GGT and a lower age.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was approved by the ethical committee of the University Hospital Medical Faculty of Charles University in Pilsen, Czech Republic (registration number 303/2001).

That horse bit me: zoonotic infections of equines to consider after exposure through the bite or the oral/nasal secretions

Millions of individuals are in contact with horses through occupational or recreational activities. Injuries from horses are responsible for over 100,000 emergency room visits each year in the United States. Although various types of traumatic injuries related to direct contact with horses are well described, roughly 3% to 4.5% of all reported injuries are due to bites by equines. The immediate injuries are commonly either blunt or penetrating trauma to local tissue; however, the bite exposure may also transmit a microbial agent of equine origin that can lead to a zoonotic infection. In almost all jurisdictions in the United States, animal bites are considered public health events and should be reported to the local health departments. Many animals can harbor many unusual zoonotic pathogens that both the individual health provider and public health officials much consider as they can adversely impact both the patient and the community health. This review focuses on those zoonoses that have been reported in the literature, including those that may in theory be transmitted from equine to human by direct inoculation or exposure to oral/nasal secretions from horses and other equine species.

Infectobesity: Obesity of Infectious Origin

The rapid increase in obesity and the associated health care costs have prompted a search for better approaches for its prevention and management. Such efforts may be facilitated by better understanding the etiology of obesity. Of the several etiological factors, infection, an unusual causative factor, has recently started receiving greater attention. In the last two decades, 10 adipogenic pathogens were reported, including human and nonhuman viruses, scrapie agents, bacteria, and gut microflora. Some of these pathogens are associated with human obesity, but their causative role in human obesity has not been established. This chapter presents information about the natural hosts, signs and symptoms, and pathogenesis of the adipogenic microorganisms. If relevant to humans, "Infectobesity" would be a relatively novel, yet extremely significant concept. A new perspective about the infectious etiology of obesity may stimulate additional research to assess the contribution of hitherto unknown pathogens to human obesity and possibly to prevent or treat obesity of infectious origins.

Detection of Borna disease virus p24 RNA in peripheral blood cells from Brazilian mood and psychotic disorder patients

BACKGROUND

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a virus that naturally infects a broad range of warm-blooded animals. BDV is an enveloped virus, non-segmented, negative-stranded RNA genome and has an organization characteristic of a member of Bornaviridae in the order of Mononegavirale. In the present work we investigated the presence of BDV p24 RNA in peripheral blood cells from 30 psychiatric patients (19 with mood disorder and 11 with psychotic disorder) and 30 healthy volunteers as the control group.

METHODS

All subjects were interviewed by structured diagnostic criteria categorized according to the DSM-IV, Axis I (SCID-V). The presence of BDV p24 RNA was investigated by nested reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) using specific primers to p24 from BDV. The specificity of the detection was analyzed by the sequencing of PCR products.

RESULTS

The mean duration of illness in mood and psychotic patients with p24 RNA of BDV was 25 (+/-12.3) years and the median age was 43.77 (+/-15.2) years. There were no significant differences in gender and age among patients and control group, neither duration of illness among patients with mood and psychotic disorders in the presence or absence of p24 RNA of BDV. We found a frequency of 33.33% (10/30) of BDV-RNA on patient's group and 13.33% (4/30) on control group. The given sequences revealed identity with GenBank database sequence for BDV.

CONCLUSION

The detection of a higher level of BDV-RNA in the peripheral blood cells of patients than on control group should help our understanding of the pathogenesis in the disease.