The causes of schizophrenia, one of the most common diseases associated with mental disorders, were unknown and poorly understood until recently, but thanks to the development of neurobiology, scientists are finding new mechanisms for the development of such a serious mental disorder every day. Recent research has prompted the medical community to create a new hypothesis that identifies the link between vitamin deficiency and the development of schizophrenia. Can schizophrenia arise from a lack of vitamins? Let's try to figure it out together.
Why does schizophrenia occur?
According to Medicalxpress.com, recent studies in South India have found a link between the development of schizophrenia and damage to the NAPRT1 gene, which can reduce the body's ability to absorb vitamin B3 naturally found in meat, eggs, fish and poultry. Scientists hypothesize that there is a direct relationship between prenatal niacin (nicotinic acid) deficiency in a pregnant woman due to malnutrition and a gene that interferes with the fetus's ability to metabolize the beneficial niacin. This interaction between the gene and the prenatal environment can predispose a child to develop a psychotic disorder. So, some previous studies prove that those descendants of mothers who experienced frequent hunger in the first trimester of pregnancy,the likelihood of developing schizophrenia is almost doubled compared to those whose diet was more balanced.
Most scientists assume that nutritional deficiencies play a key role in the development of not only mental illness, but also physiological diseases, but how exactly the lack of a specific nutrient can trigger the onset of brain diseases, scientists have yet to figure out.
Scientists also suggest that pellagra, a disease caused by vitamin deficiency due to malnutrition, can also be one of the reasons for the development of active psychosis. Between 1906 and 1940, nearly 3 million American citizens earned pellagra from a diet deficient in nicotinic acid. Treatment of illness with niacin can quickly and permanently relieve symptoms of the disease, which include psychosis and dermatitis. Perhaps taking certain vitamins correctly can help treat schizophrenia as well?
Despite the seriousness of the disease, schizophrenia is treatable.
As you know, in most cases, the first symptom of pellagra manifests itself in the form of a rash, which, as a rule, signals the presence of a certain disorder. Meanwhile, in the absence of the first symptoms of pellagra, patients may be mistakenly diagnosed with schizophrenia, which implies a much more complex treatment.
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A study by the World Health Organization showed that patients with schizophrenia in developing countries recover faster than in Western countries, despite the fact that patients in the West receive wider medical care. Thus, some of the patients who actually had pellagra were often misdiagnosed as schizophrenic. By receiving the necessary nutrients in a hospital setting, including niacin, patients could successfully recover. This is why research in the 1950s showed successful treatment of schizophrenia with high doses of niacin or vitamin B3, while in the 1970s such treatment was ineffective.
Scientists note that a correct diagnosis, as well as careful medical monitoring of the treatment of patients with both pellagra and schizophrenia, are extremely important for the health of patients. Taking high doses of vitamins, the patient runs the risk of serious complications in the absence of any dosage control or deliberate excess of it.
Daria Eletskaya