Failure to detect immunologic stigmata in schizophrenia.

The sera of 17 patients with acute or chronic schizophrenia were tested for antibodies to a human brain extract or to Molt cells; a human T-cell line, with negative results. The level of in vivo lymphocyte stimulation was investigated by determination of the proportion of peripheral blood lymphocytes in the G1, S or G2 + M phases of the cell cycle and by their uptake of 3H-thymidine. There was no sign of increased lymphocyte mitotic activity by these two tests. Therefore, immunologic stigmata could not be detected by these methods in these schizophrenic patients.