Herpesviruses and Toxoplasma gondii in orbital frontal cortex of psychiatric patients

Herpes simplex virus (HSV), Epstein-Barr virus (EMV), cytomegalovirus (CW), and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) are viruses capable of establishing latency. All of these infect the CNS and have been detected in human postmortem brains. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan organism which can reactivate in the brains of previously infected immunocompromised individuals. To screen for the presence of herpesviruses and T gondii in postmortem orbital frontal brain samples from patients with schizophrenia, affective disorders, and controls, we used nested-polymerase chain reaction (n-PCR)/sequencing. We identified HGV-6B sequences in 2/51 postmortem brain samples but no sequences from other herpesviruses, We did not detect sequences of T gondii in the postmortem brains. Additional studies including ones directed at the sensitive detection of viral nucleic acids in multiple brain regions should be directed at confirming or excluding a role for viruses and protozoa in the etiology of these disorders, (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.