Additional evidence for a viral contribution to depression

Researchers have discovered a new detection method for Borna disease virus (BDV) infection using BDV circulating immune complexes. By employing this diagnostic tool, researchers have new evidence that BDV infections may play a role in mood disorders.

ARTICLE: "Borna disease virus-specific circulating immune complexes, antigenemia, and free antibodies - the key marker triplet determining infection and prevailing in severe mood disorders�

AUTHORS: L Bode, P Reckwald, WE Severus, R Stoyloff, R Ferszt, DE Dietrich, and H Ludwig

Department of Virology, Robert Koch-Institut, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany; Crisis Intervention Center, Benjamin Franklin Hospital, Free University of Berlin, Hindenburgdamm 30, 12200 Berlin, Germany; Institute of Virology; Free Univeristy of Berlin, K�nigin-Luise-Straβe 49, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Psychiatric Clinic, Department of Gerontopsychiatry, Benjamin Franklin Hospital, Free University of Berlin, Eschenallee 3, 14050 Berlin, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School of Hanover, Carl-Neuberg Straβe 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany

The article by Bode et al. provides new evidence for a role of Borna disease virus (BDV) in mood disorders. BDV is a RNA virus known to cause behavioral syndromes in animals, similar to mood disorders in man. The authors discovered that the blood of acutely depressed patients diagnosed as having either Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Bipolar Disorder (BP) was harboring BDV-specific circulating immune complexes (BDV-CICs) in almost all cases studied. Moreover, strongly severe cases of depression were significantly correlated with large persisting amounts of BDV antigens in the blood plasma (antigenemia), despite already high levels of BDV-CICs and free antibodies.

Based on some thousand samples, including horses with Borna disease, the authors found CICs, free plasma antigens, and antibodies to be the key marker triplet determining BDV infection. This discovery may put to rest controversies that have incriminated diagnosis and clinical research in the past. With this new detection method, the authors were able to better detect BDV infections in humans.

This study found that BDV behaves like many other common agents with low pathogenicity. In the healthy population, a prevalence of up to 30% was detected with the newly discovered diagnostic tool. This prevalence turns out to be 10 times more than previous estimates using other detection methods. In contrast, in patients with MDD and BP, representing a one-to-five-percent segment of the population, an almost 100% infection rate was found using BDV-specific CICs.

These data clearly indicate that periodic and highly persistent BDV infections may play a role in recurrent types of depressive illness. Are certain types of depression likely to have an infectious etiology? The study suggests a possible yes. Although the majority of infections are harmless, given a 30% prevalence in healthy subjects, the new easy-to-use tests for BDV infection can monitor the risk of a mood disorder.

Citation source: Molecular Psychiatry 2001 Volume 6, number 4, pages 481-491.

For further information on this work, please contact Dr. Liv Bode, Department of Virology, Robert Koch-Institut, Project Bornavirus-Infection, Nordufer 20 D-13353 Berlin, Germany. Telephone: 49-30-4547-2451; E-mail: [email protected] or Dr. Hanns Ludwig, Institut f�r Virologie, Freie Universit�t Berlin, K�nigin-Luise-Stra�e 49, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. Telephone: 49-30-838-5511; E-mail: [email protected]

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