Difference of neuro- and immunomodulatory steroids and selected hormone and lipid concentrations between Toxoplasma-free and Toxoplasma-infected schizophrenia patients
Flegr, J., Hampl, R., Bicíková, M., Ripova, D., Mohr, P.
Neuroendocrinology Letters 2014; 35: 20-27
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OBJECTIVES
:
Toxoplasma gondii
, the protozoan parasite infecting about 30%
population worldwide, is suspected to be the etiological agent of certain form
of schizophrenia disease.
To x o p l a s m a
is known to change levels of certain neu-
rotransmitters, cytokines and several hormones in both infected animals and
humans. A common feature of toxoplasmosis and schizophrenia is a disorder of
immune system.
METHODS:
Here we studied the levels of five neuro- and immunomodulatory
steroids, selected hormones and lipids in sera of 173 schizophrenia patients.
RESULTS:
To x o p l a s m a
infected schizophrenia patients expressed only insignifi-
cantly lower concentration of neuro- and immunomodulatory DHEA metabo-
lites. Infected women had higher concentration of glucose while infected men had
higher concentration of cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. No significant effect of
human cytomegalovirus infection on the concentration of the above parameters
was observed. The difference in the concentration of DHEA metabolites faded
with the decrease of the concentration of anti-
To x o p l a s m a
IgG antibodies (i.e.
with the duration of
To x o p l a s m a
infection) while the difference in the concentra-
tion of cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol increased with the decrease of the con-
centration of anti-
To x o p l a s m a
IgG antibodies. The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in
male (53.2%) but not female (29.8%) schizophrenia
patients was unusually high in
comparison with prevalence of toxoplasmosis in a general population.
CONCLUSION:
Our results provided an explanation for seemingly decreasing
prevalence of toxoplasmosis in schizophrenia patients observed in current studies (increased concerns about the rights of patients result-
ing in absence of non-cooperative
To x o p l a s m a
-positive
patients in the study population) and suggest possible
explanation for reported positive correlation between
prevalence of toxoplasmosis and incidence of cardio-
vascular diseases (accelerated atherosclerotic develop-
ment due to increased level of cholesterol and LDL in
To x o p l a s m a
infected humans).