Variations in the structure of the brain could promote the onset of psychoses.
Millions of people suffer from psychoses around the world. If schizophrenia is the most well-known mental illness, psychotic crises can occur in the context of deep depression, a manic episode in a bipolar person or even an abandonment crisis in a borderline patient. Thus, psychoses take many and varied forms, which makes them particularly difficult to diagnose and treat correctly.
A new study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry however, we learn a little more about their brain formation. Variations in the choroid plexuses, which form the structures where cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is secreted, may play a role, the researchers say.
What are the choroid plexuses?
The choroid plexuses form a barrier between the brain and CSF that helps filter toxins and prevents blood components from entering the brain while allowing the passage of molecules involved in the immune system.
For their study, researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston (USA) followed two groups. The first was made up of people suffering from psychoses or directly related to patients, while the second brought together volunteers who were not affected by these disorders. By scanning the participants’ brains, the scientists found that the choroid plexuses were larger in the sick, somewhat larger in those related to the sick, and “normal” in the others.
Further research needs to take place
What’s more, larger choroid plexus volumes were associated with less gray matter, smaller amygdala volume, lower cognitive scores, larger ventricular volume, and lower neural connection levels, the researchers note.
Another important observation: participants with larger choroid plexuses had high levels of interleukin 6 (IL6) signaling cells capable of crossing the barriers between the brain, blood and cerebrospinal fluid. However, people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are known to have higher levels of IL-6. So, although more research needs to be done, this study shows a probable link between increased choroid plexus volume and psychosis.
In France, 600,000 people with schizophrenia
Psychosis is characterized by a state where the patient struggles to differentiate what is true from what is not. During a psychotic phase, he experiences disillusions and hallucinations. He makes incoherent remarks, suffers from insomnia and sometimes falls into depression. Generally, the warning signs of psychosis appear in late adolescence.
The most common form of chronic psychosis is schizophrenia. This disease most often appears around the twenties and affects 0.7% of the world population, including 600,000 people in France. During the first years, it evolves through acute phases before stabilizing with residual symptoms of variable intensity depending on the patient. Because everything depends of course on the quality of the psychosocial support, its access to care and its management.
Thereby, according to Inserm, after a few years of treatment, about a third of patients are in lasting remission and can even resume a normal social, emotional and professional life. Remember, however, that a psychotic disorder is not always a sign of a mental illness. It can also be caused by alcohol or drug abuse, a bad reaction to drug treatment or even a severe lack of sleep over the long term.
