This clinical trial is recruiting people diagnosed with schizophrenia that may really have anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. If you have been wrongly diagnosed this could lead to a cure for you.
NMDA RECEPTOR ANTIBODIES IN PSYCHOSIS
Schizophrenic and bipolar psychoses are chronic and disabling brain disorder that affects many persons of all backgrounds. It is thought that in the brain of people with schizophrenic psychosis there is a decreased amount of a receptor known as the N-acetyl methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, which normally facilitates thinking and memory. It is not known why this receptor is decreased, but a reasonable possibility is that in some people the receptor is being attacked by antibodies, produced by the body of the person with psychosis
The goal of this study is to determine whether there are increased antibodies against the NMDA receptor in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of people with psychosis, when compared with healthy controls. Recognizing this problem is critical because when the antibodies are lowered by treatment, the NMDA receptors recover, and the psychosis would be eliminated or at least greatly improved.
Study director: Joseph C. Masdeu, MD, PhD
Sponsor: The Schizophrenia Collaborative Fund
Recruiting?: Yes
Official study title: NMDA Receptor in Psychosis: Specific Auto-Antibodies
Conditions studied: Psychosis
Intervention Drugs: N/A.
Phase: Observational study
Duration of participation: The expected time you will be in the study is about 1 month.
IRB #: Pro00014773
Not sure if I would want to be in a study with a spinal tap just to prove someone’s theory. Why not just administer the immune suppressor meds and see if it helps? The thought of someone tapping my spine makes me squeamish …
BTW does anyone (@twinklestars ? ) know what immune suppressor meds may be used in this type of study ?
Edit: this study says they are not testing any drugs. They are just testing people for these antibodies. Presumably if you were positive you would then persue treatment.
This would suggest it’s not very common:
Although there are trials on clinicaltrials.gov testing Tocilizumab in people with high c reactive protein which isn’t quite the same thing but it is an immuno therapy.
Thanks! and there’s that anti cancer med link to sz again !!
According to wiki…
“Tocilizumab was first used in large-cell lung carcinoma; in phase I/II trial of tocilizumab in ovarian cancer EGFR pathway upregulation was observed and after inhibition of this pathway by gefitinib tumor growth was decreased both in vitro and in vivo.[29] Tocilizumab is being studied for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).[30]”
I take your very valid point that the CSF NMDA receptor antibody study may not be directed to a significant (or even any) proportion of sz patients - its only an theory after all but I think they have been various tantalizing hints that infection/inflammation is associated with sz (as also hypofunction of NMDA repetors).
BTW you have awesome research skills ! Do you have a magic wand that you can point at Google with an abracadabra and viola! the perfect reference appears ?
I think there’s another sz med being studied that also is supposed to work on PAH… RP5063. Actually that’s one I am watching with great interest, because in phase 2, the study said they had a high “remission level” response.
I think it should be relabeled (in some circumstances like these) as “obsessive compulsive determination” !
So do you have psychosis NOS ? and if you don’t mind me asking are there other forums/websites/ for people with “OCD”
