1) Korean researchers used rRT-PCR to test for Borna Disease Virus (BDV) antibodies and RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 60 healthy and 198 psychiatric patients, including 60 with schizophrenia and 138 with other conditions. 2) All patients tested negative for BDV. However, the results were inconclusive due to uncertainties in the methodology, such as success rate and the researchers' experience with the new technique. 3) More research is needed using improved methods to trace the virus in patients in order to determine if BDV could be linked to schizophrenia or other psychiatric conditions.

1. Fall Semester 2012-13
Annotated Bibliography 3
Roll Book.# 6 Name Juan Enrique Maldonado Weng
Date: November 2nd, 20012
Annotated Bibliography 3:
Na K, Tae S, Song J and Kim Y. 2009. Failure to Detect Borna Disease Virus Antibody and
RNA from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Psychiatric Patients. Official Journal of Korean
Neuropsychiatric Association, [Internet]; [Cited 2012 November 22]. DOI 10.4306/pi. 2009:6:306-312
Available at: http://synapse.koreamed.org/Synapse/Data/PDFData/0162PI/pi-6-306.pdf
These Korean investigators attempt to find the relationship between Borna Disease Virus (BDV) and
schizophrenia. It is believed that BDV is a cause for the schizophrenic conditions. With the utilization
of a new technique that has not been previously used for this type of study, rRT-PCR (real-time
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction), the researchers look for answers. This process
tracks BDV antibodies or RNA in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of the human body.
For the study, sixty healthy patients were recruited for the control and 198 psychiatric patients were
recruited for the experimental. The experimental group was composed of sixty patients with
schizophrenia and 138 with other major psychiatric conditions. Within the rRT-PCR method, all the
patients tested negative for BDV. These results are not conclusive due to many uncertainties in the
methodology such as the success rate, their handling of the procedure, and the researcher's
experience with the procedure. Even though this method is shown to have low possibilities of
contamination, this is the first known utilization of the procedure. The researchers might be
inexperienced with the resulting reactions of the virus. Another example of an uncertainty is the lack
of comparison and continuation of the experiment. The researchers did not validate the results from
other tests nor did they publish their results of their other tests. This experiment shows that to find
answers, it is necessary to require new and more adequate methods to trace the virus in patients.
When that can be accomplished, a new origin of the schizophrenic condition may be found.
Words 225