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Toxoplasma gondii & Human Phenotype

Compendium of Known Effects and Ongoing Research

spectrum disorder

Prenatal toxoplasmosis antibody and childhood autism

October 2, 2017
Spann, M. N., Sourander, A., Surcel, H. M., Hinkka-Yli-Salomaki, S., Brown, A. S.
Autism Research 2017; 10: 769-777
Click for abstract
here is evidence that some maternal infections during the prenatal period are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as childhood autism. However, the association between autism and Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), an intracellular parasite, remains unclear. The authors examined whether serologically confirmed maternal antibodies to T. gondii are associated with odds of childhood autism in offspring. The study is based on a nested case-control design of a large national birth cohort (N=1.2 million) and the national psychiatric registries in Finland. There were 874 cases of childhood autism and controls matched 1: 1 on date of birth, sex, birthplace and residence in Finland. Maternal sera were prospectively assayed from a national biobank for T. gondii IgM and IgG antibodies; IgG avidity analyses were also performed. High maternal T. gondii IgM antibody was associated with a significantly decreased odds of childhood autism. Low maternal T. gondii IgG antibody was associated with increased offspring odds of autism. In women with high T. gondii IgM antibodies, the IgG avidity was high for both cases and controls, with the exception of three controls. The findings suggest that the relationship between maternal T. gondii antibodies and odds of childhood autism may be related to the immune response to this pathogen or the overall activation of the immune system.

Tagged: antibody, autism, avidity, c-reactive protein, childhood, congenital toxoplasmosis, gondii, igg, infection, latent toxoplasmosis, rheumatoid-arthritis, risk, spectrum disorder, toxoplasmosis

Mental health

Maternal T-gondii, offspring bipolar disorder and neurocognition

January 4, 2016
Freedman, D., Bao, Y. Y., Shen, L., Schaefer, C. A., Brown, A. S.
Psychiatry Research 2016, 243: 382-389
Click for abstract
Prenatal exposure to maternal Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) IgG antibody titer has been associated previously with an increased risk of offspring schizophrenia (SZ) and cognitive impairment. We examined maternal T gondii, offspring bipolar disorder (BP) and childhood cognition using a population based birth cohort. Maternal sera, drawn in the third trimester, were analyzed for T. gondii IgG antibody titer, and offspring cognition at ages 5 and 9-11 was measured with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the Raven Matrices (Raven). Raw scores were standardized and the ages combined. Potential cases with BP from the cohort were identified by database linkages. This protocol identified 85 cases who were matched 1:2 to controls. Maternal T. gondii IgG was not associated with the risk of BP in offspring. Neither moderate [HR = 1.43 (CI: 0.49, 4.17)] nor high IgG titer [HR=1.6 [CI: 0.74, 3.48)] were associated with offspring BP. Associations were not observed between maternal T gondii and BP with psychotic features or BP type 1. In addition, maternal T gondii was not associated with childhood cognition. Our study suggests that T. gondii may be specific to SZ among major psychotic disorders, though further studies with larger sample sizes are required. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tagged: 1st-episode schizophrenia, adult schizophrenia, birth cohort, cognition, cognitive impairment, congenital toxoplasmosis, danish draft-board, infectious agents, mood disorders, neurodevelopment, of-the-literature, ppvt, prenatal exposure, psychotic disorders, raven matrices, spectrum disorder, Toxoplasma gondii

Mental health

Topics

  • Behavior 105
  • Cognitive functions 64
  • Mental health 439
  • Morphology 6
  • Motor functions 10
  • Personality 36
  • Physical health 134
  • Reproduction 36
  • Reviews 40
  • Sensory functions 3
  • Uncategorized 2

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