Diagnosing Organic Causes of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: Findings from a One-Year Cohort of the Freiburg Diagnostic Protocol in Psychosis (FDPP).

Secondary schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) have clearly identifiable causes. The Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Freiburg has continued to expand its screening practices to clarify the organic causes of SSDs. This retrospective analysis was carried out to analyze whether a comprehensive organic diagnostic procedure could be informative in patients with SSDs.

Increased IL-8 concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with unipolar depression.

Introduction: Unipolar depression is a common and debilitating disorder. Immunological explanatory approaches have become increasingly important in recent years and can be studied particularly well in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Previous studies discerned alterations in interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 levels; however, findings regarding IL-8 were partly contradictory.

Probable Autoimmune Depression in a Patient With Multiple Sclerosis and Antineuronal Antibodies.

Background: In a subgroup of patients with mood disorders, clear-cut organic disorders are responsible for depressive symptoms (e.g., autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis or systemic lupus erythematosus).

Cerebrospinal fluid, antineuronal autoantibody, EEG, and MRI findings from 992 patients with schizophreniform and affective psychosis.

The central role played by cerebrospinal-fluid (CSF) examinations including antineuronal autoantibody (Ab) testing is increasingly recognized in psychiatry. The rationale of this study was to present a multimodally investigated group of patients. In total, 992 patients were analyzed for CSF alterations: 456 patients with schizophreniform and 536 with affective syndromes.

Anti-Thyroid Peroxidase and Anti-Thyroglobulin Autoantibodies in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients with Unipolar Depression.

Introduction: The risk of developing depression is increased in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis. Autoimmune Hashimoto thyroiditis is diagnosed using the serum markers anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (TG) antibodies. In rare cases, patients with autoimmune thyroiditis can also suffer from the heterogeneous and ill-defined syndrome of Hashimoto encephalopathy.

Psychiatric Manifestation of Anti-LGI1 Encephalitis.

Background: Anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1) encephalitis is typically characterized by limbic encephalitis, faciobrachial dystonic seizures and hyponatremia. The frequency with which milder forms of anti-LGI1 encephalitis mimic isolated psychiatric syndromes, such as psychoses, or may lead to dementia if untreated, is largely unknown.

Case Presentation: Here, the authors present a 50-year-old patient who had suffered from neurocognitive deficits and predominant delusions for over one and a half years.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Findings of 36 Adult Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction, repetitive behavior, and additional features, such as special interests. Its precise etiology is unclear. Recently, immunological mechanisms, such as maternal autoantibodies/infections, have increasingly been the subject of discussion.

Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate-Receptor Encephalitis: A 10-Year Follow-Up.

Background: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor (NMDA-R) encephalitis is an autoimmune disease of the brain first described in 2007. The aim of this paper is to present a 10-year follow-up case history.

Case Presentation: The authors present the case of a 39-year-old female patient who developed an anti-NMDA-R encephalitis in 2009 with predominant severe catatonic symptoms.