Hikikomori, the fear of leaving the house: biological markers identified

hikikomori it was already one syndrome widespread in Japan, but after the Coronavirus pandemic, it expanded as a worldwide psychological consequence. Japanese scientists have discovered biological markers that make it possible to distinguish between sick and healthy people. Many people withdraw into their homes and avoid friends and relatives, making them antisocially pathological.

The term hikokomori denotes those who: they isolate themselves from society refusing any external contact. It seemed like a phenomenon limited to Japan, but after the Coronavirus it spread like wildfire around the world. Masks, restrictions, lockdowns, fears of contamination, vaccines and deaths have created a bomb that is affecting the psychology of people who have locked themselves in their homes.

The association Hikikomori Italia registered a doubling of the number: from 5000 hikikomori people to more than 15 thousand between 2019 and 2021. However, understanding the symptoms of the syndrome is not easy, so a team of Japanese researchers managed to find some specific markers in the blood. A way to distinguish the healthy from the hikikomori patients, confirm the severity of the condition and also make accurate diagnoses later on.

The scientists examined the biological correlators of pathology. All with the association of psychiatric conditions such as: schizophrenia, depression, social anxiety. The plasma of 42 hikikomori individuals was collected and compared with that of healthy individuals. We then analyzed the difference between 127 molecules, including amino acids, proteins and sugars.

High levels of ornithine, arginase enzyme, and long-chain acylcarnitine were found in the blood of people with hikikomori. Unlike those of bilirubin and arginine. Ornithine is an amino acid that is made from the amino acid arginine using the enzyme arginase. These are essential molecules for regulating blood pressure and the urea cycle. Bilirubin is a breakdown of red blood cells by the liver and indicates a correct liver function.

Acylcarnitines are able to supply energy to the brain and its levels decrease when depressed patients take serotonin reuptake drugs. This study therefore made it possible to biological identity of hikikomori patients to distinguish sick from healthy and indicate the severity of the disease.