Possible association of schizophrenia with a disturbance in prostaglandin metabolism: a physiological hypothesis

Abstract

Schizophrenia may be associated with increased prostaglandin synthesis in certain parts of the brain. This hypothesis is based on the following findings: (1) Catalepsy, which is the nearest equivalent in animals to human catatonia, develops in cats when prostaglandin E1 is injected into the cerebral ventricles and when during endotoxin or lipid A fever the prostaglandin E2 level in cisternal c.s.f. rises to high levels; however, when fever and prostaglandin level are brought down by non-steroid anti-pyretics which inhibit prostaglandin synthesis, catalepsy disappears as well. (2) Febrile episodes are a genuine syndrome of schizophrenia.