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Explore the complex interplay of genetics, environment, concussion, substance abuse, and inflammation in severe mental illnesses, revealing critical insights for prevention and treatment.
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Introduction
Severe and persistent mental illnesses (SPMI) encompass psychiatric conditions including psychotic disorders (eg, schizophrenia), affective and mood disorders (eg, bipolar disorder, major depression), anxiety disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and trauma-related conditions, and developmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Emerging research supports a multifactorial causation model in which polygenic genetic vulnerability interacts dynamically with diverse modifiable environmental factors, notably including postinfectious inflammation and substance use (petty drug abuse), as key pathways affecting illness onset and persistence1,2,3
Genetic Vulnerability Across Disorders
Environmental Risk Factors
Key environmental contributors to SPMI include:
Post-Infectious Inflammation as a Distinct Environmental Factor
Infections provoke systemic immune activation with elevated cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β) that signal across the blood-brain barrier activating microglia, causing neuroinflammation, impaired synaptic plasticity, neurotransmitter balance disruption, and sometimes autoimmune neuronal injury.1,20 These contribute to onset or worsening of depression, psychosis, PTSD, OCD, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Concluding Thoughts
Severe and persistent mental illnesses arise from the intersection of inherited genetic liability, aberrant communication in the family, and multiple environmental risks including concussion/TBI, environmental toxin exposure, postinfectious inflammation, and petty drug abuse.17
Together, neuroinflammation, exposures to environmental toxins, brain trauma, family environment, and substance use or abuse synergistically disrupt brain function governing cognition, mood, and behavior. Prevention and treatment must integrate approaches addressing infectious, toxic, psychosocial, and substance-related risks to reduce illness burden and improve outcomes.
Table 1. Integrated Risk Factors and Mechanisms In Severe and Persistent Mental Illness
Table 2. Post-Infectious Neuroinflammatory Pathway to Psychiatric Symptoms
Table 3. Clinical and Public Health Intervention Stratification for Post-Infectious Neuropsychiatric Risks
Dr Best is the director of The Neuroscience Center in Deerfield, Illinois.
References
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