The choroid plexus and system disease in mental illness. III. The exogenous peptide hypothesis of mental illness.

Based on the apparent existence of a second (choroid plexial) blood-brain barrier offering a new brain attack mechanism on the periventricular primary personality brain (Rudin, 1980) and which may be breached to produce the schizophreniform psychosis characteristic of systemic lupus erythematosus (Rudin, 1981), we here assess the evidence that viruses and exogenous peptides, including especially the glutens of cereal grains, may be the primary triggers for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia would then be supposed to result as one expression of gene-determined combined transport organ dysfunction with underlying basal laminar immunopathy at the tissue level and possibly a prostaglandin disorder at the chemical and membrane level in turn, finally disrupting neurotransmission in the periventricular limbic system. We conclude that the evidence warrants test of the hypothesis, including a clinical trial under national auspices employing an elemental diet, plasmapheresis, immunosuppression together with an antiviral regimen.