Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder with multiple genetic and environmental factors contributing to its pathogenesis. Viral infections have been suggested to be one of the environmental factors associated with the development of this disorder. We comprehensively review all relevant published literature focusing on the relationship between schizophrenia and various viral infections, such as influenza virus, herpes virus 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), retrovirus, coronavirus, and Borna virus. These viruses may interfere with the normal maturation of the brain directly or through immune-induced mediators, such as cytokines, leading to the onset of schizophrenia. Changes in the expression of critical genes and elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines have been linked to virally-induced infections and relevant immune activities in schizophrenia. Future research is necessary to understand this relationship better and provide insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population worldwide. Genetics and environmental factors appear to contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Epidemiological studies have focused on the relationship between viral infection during pregnancy and an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in offspring. The aim of our review is to summarize whether viral infections during pregnancy can lead to psychiatric disorders and especially to schizophrenia in adulthood. For that purpose we undertaken a thorough search in Pubmed using as keywords viral infections, schizophrenia, perinatal infections and virus. Epidemiological studies have focused on the relationship between perinatal viral infections and an increased risk of developing schizophrenia in offspring. Influenza virus, various members of the Herpesviridae family, retroviruses, borna virus are discussed as examples of viral infections associated with schizophrenia. These viral infections appear to interfere with the normal maturation of the brain and may lead to the subsequent onset of schizophrenia. Another epidemiological aspect of schizophrenia is the fact that it presents a seasonal prevalence with peaks in offsprings which wer born during winter and spring. It is also possible for an infection occurring in infancy to reactivate later, as is known to happen with herpes viruses. Overall,various studies showed that prenatal maternal infections appear to increase the risk of developing schizophrenia in the offspring, and this is due to the body's immune response to the infection, and not in exposure to specific viral or bacterial pathogens.
Aims: Fever of unknown origin (FUO) remains a diagnostic challenge for clinicians. The current diagnostic approach includes a detailed medical history, physical examination, laboratory tests and imaging techniques (chest X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI). 18F-FDG PET/CT (18fluoro-deoxyglucose PET/CT) is a non-invasive diagnostic imaging technique, which is widely used in oncology. The purpose of our narrative review was to summarize the knowledge for the diagnostic role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the diagnostic approach of patients with FUO, as reported in the literature.
Methodology: We undertook a search of literature published in PubMed until February 2019.
Results: Various studies showed that 18F-FDG PET/CT could play an important role as a second-line explorative technique in the diagnosis of patients with FUO. 18F-FDG PET/CT presents high diagnostic accuracy in large vessel vasculitis, in orthopedic prosthetic infections, in chronic osteomyelitis and in prosthetic valve endocarditis. However, 18 -FDG/PET has some limitations such as the assessment of urine tract due to the excretion into the urine but also become of the high glucose metabolism in some organs such as the brain.
Conclusions: Overall, PET/CT gains increasing interest in the diagnosis of FUO and should be considered by the clinicians in the exploration of those patients.
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