Herpesviruses and Toxoplasma Gondii in Orbital Frontal Cortex of Psychiatric Patients

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6)

are viruses capable of establishing latency.  All of these infect the CNS

and have been detected in human postmortem brains.  Toxoplasma gondii is a

protozoan organism which can reactivate in the brains of previously infected

immunocompromised individuals.  To screen for the presence of herpesviruses

and T. gondii in postmortem orbital frontal brain samples from patients with

schizophrenia, affective disorders, and controls, we used nested-polymerase

chain reaction (n-PCR)/sequencing.  We identified HHV-6B sequences in 2/51

postmortem brain samples but no sequences from other herpesviruses.  We did

not detect sequences of T. gondii in the postmortem brains.  Additional

studies including ones directed at the sensitive detection of viral nucleic

acids in multiple brain region should be directed at confirming or excluding a