simplygina Posted May 28, 2010 Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 Our local news ran a story last night about a a University of Utah researcher that has found a link between the immune system & mental illness. More specifically, he found that compulsive behavior, such as hair pulling, can be linked to a cell called a microglia. " They found people and animals afflicted with behavior disorders have deformed microglia cells. So, instead of treating mental illness the way doctors traditionally have -- with medication to alter brain chemistry -- they tried a new approach by treating the immune system. The researchers used a procedure on the mouse that's commonly practiced on cancer patients -- a bone marrow transplant. 'That cured the disease permanently,' Capecchi says. 'All the hair grew back, all the lesions were healed, and the mouse no longer removes the body hair'. Here is the link, if anyone is interested. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=10947928 I don't love the idea of a bone marrow transplant, but I do love that researchers are finally proving that mental illnesses are really physical illnesses at their root. I wonder what implications this has for PANDAS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phasmid Posted May 28, 2010 Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 GREAT FIND! THANKS... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixit Posted May 28, 2010 Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 (edited) Thanks for posting this.... ps...i wanted to mention,,,when the comercial comes on aftetr the first segment, there's anohter 10minute segment SImply.....maybe you and monachcat want to forward these links to doc K and swedo........ Edited May 28, 2010 by Fixit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpotter Posted May 28, 2010 Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 GReat find. I am treating a child (OT)...one of her symptoms (that I don't treat, but she is going to see a neurologist about at my suggestion) is that she pulls her hair out. Her mom did the same (grandma is taking care of her...child is only 2 years old.) I'll pass this information on to her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wombat140 Posted May 28, 2010 Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 Bit of a coincidence there - he was discussing his experiment on UK national radio today. Here's a link to another article I found, in New Scientist's website. Bit more technical detail. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1897...ref=online-news Unfortunately I can't get hold of the full paper. It's one of those you can't get unless you subscribe to the journal. The reference is "Hematopoietic Origin of Pathological Grooming in Hoxb8 Mutant Mice", Cell, Volume 141, Issue 5, 775-785, 28 May 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kim Posted May 28, 2010 Report Share Posted May 28, 2010 I think this assoc has been known about for awhile http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11779477 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Mom Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 The FULL interview link at the top of the link is well worth watching!!! THIS IS AMAZING! I think we should all forward this link to any doctors that you have seen or have access to-- The fact that Dr Cappechi is a Nobel Prize winning scientist is a plus-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie1 Posted May 30, 2010 Report Share Posted May 30, 2010 Our local news ran a story last night about a a University of Utah researcher that has found a link between the immune system & mental illness. More specifically, he found that compulsive behavior, such as hair pulling, can be linked to a cell called a microglia. " They found people and animals afflicted with behavior disorders have deformed microglia cells. So, instead of treating mental illness the way doctors traditionally have -- with medication to alter brain chemistry -- they tried a new approach by treating the immune system. The researchers used a procedure on the mouse that's commonly practiced on cancer patients -- a bone marrow transplant. 'That cured the disease permanently,' Capecchi says. 'All the hair grew back, all the lesions were healed, and the mouse no longer removes the body hair'. Here is the link, if anyone is interested. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=10947928 I don't love the idea of a bone marrow transplant, but I do love that researchers are finally proving that mental illnesses are really physical illnesses at their root. I wonder what implications this has for PANDAS. Does that mean that cord blood might prove benficial in treating PANDAS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary M Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 Thank you for posting this...what a phenomenal bit of research. So hopeful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixit Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 . Does that mean that cord blood might prove benficial in treating PANDAS? i hope so...i've asked this question before.... .i didn't save it for my oldest ds...not sure it was available or well known 10 yeears ago... but i saved it for my other 2... i realized then my 1st boy may benefit from this as we already had 2 episodes of tics and strep and the docs were ney sayers(coincedence, they say!!!)...... and i thought......this blood might be the key.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemar Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 (edited) I am so glad to see this study getting media attention as yes, some have long suggested that much related to mental illness might have an immune and also possibly inflammatory root we were very interested to note the positive effect that adding anti-inflamm supps and diet had for my son after his autoimmune Crohn's dx. We were looking to treat the Crohn's but also saw improvement in his OCD symptoms, especially after adding the Boswellia/curcumin mix (which I later learned has had research on being helpful for OCD as well as its known anti-inflamm properties I have such deep concern for the many kids who are dx and treated for "mental illness" when in fact there are physical issues causing their mental issues! I know what the "psych drugs" did to my son and where they may have great benefit for some people, physicians first putting a child on them without even investigating further what else may be going on is wrong! So many people are suffering awful side effects from strong drugs that are only masking their symptoms and often making them sicker. It is way past time to stop this ridiculous separation of "mental" illness from all other illness and start seeing things "holistically" without them rolling their eyes and thinking "quackery" vent over! thanks for posting the research simplygina, and for the older work too Kim Edited May 31, 2010 by Chemar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fixit Posted May 31, 2010 Report Share Posted May 31, 2010 Amen Sister!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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