El embarazo y la gripe: un vínculo con la esquizofrenia

Cuando las madres se infectan con la gripe durante su embarazo, esto puede aumentar el riesgo de esquizofrenia en sus hijos. La gripe es un virus muy común y por lo tanto ha habido una interés creciente por esta asociación. Un nuevo estudio publicado por Elsevier en el volumen del 15 de junio de Psiquiatría Biológica, sugiere que la asociación observada depende de una vulnerabilidad preexistente en el feto.
Concretamente, la Dra. Lauren Ellman y sus colegas determinaron que la exposición fetal a la gripe lleva a problemas cognitivos a la edad de 7 años entre los niños que más tarde desarrollar un trastorno sicótico en la adultez, pero la exposición fetal a la gripe no da lugar a problemas cognitivos entre los niños que más tarde no desarrollan un trastorno sicótico. Es importante señalar que estos resultados dependen del tipo de la gripe, y esta asociación está solo presente sólo después de la exposición fetal a la gripe B, a diferencia de la gripe A.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-06/e-pat060909.php

This research was conducted as part of the Collaborative Perinatal Project, which followed pregnant women and their offspring in the 1950’s and 60’s, collecting blood throughout pregnancies for later analyses. A series of cognitive assessments were conducted with the children of study participants and then psychotic diagnoses were determined in adulthood.
The findings from this study suggest that a genetic and/or an additional environmental factor associated with psychosis likely is necessary for the fetal brain to be vulnerable to the effects of influenza, given that decreases in cognitive performance were only observed in influenza-exposed children who developed a psychotic disorder in adulthood.
“The good news is that most fetuses exposed to influenza virus while in the womb will not go on to develop schizophrenia. The bad news is that the prior association between influenza infection and later development of psychotic disorders was supported,” comments John Krystal, M.D., the editor of Biological Psychiatry.
This finding has the potential to influence efforts to develop prevention, early intervention and treatment strategies, such as taking steps to maintain careful hygiene and, if clinically appropriate, administration of the influenza vaccination to reduce infection among women prior to pregnancy. Dr. Krystal notes, “It also raises an important unanswered question: How does influenza virus affect the vulnerable developing brain and how can we prevent or reverse the consequence of fetal influenza infection in vulnerable individuals before they develop schizophrenia?” More research is needed to elicit answers to these vital issues.