ANTINUCLEAR ANTIBODIES IN DRUG-FREE SCHIZOPHRENICS
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Abstract
The nature of the association between auto-immune phenomena and schizophrenia is not entirely clear. In an attempt to define the auto-immune status of patients with schizophrenia, sera of patients and healthy controls were tested for antinuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA), anti-single-stranded DNA (anti-ssDNA), as anti-Ro (SS-A) and anti-La (SS-B). The analysis of these autoantibodies were done with sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). None of the sera of 70 patients was positive for the presence of ANA, and anti-dsDNA and anti-ssDNA. There was no significant difference between schizophrenics and controls in terms of ANA, anti-dsDNA and anti-ssDNA (p>0.05). It was concluded that evidence of auto-immune basis for schizophrenia etiology remains unclear.