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Toxoplasma gondii & Human Phenotype

Compendium of Known Effects and Ongoing Research

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Presence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in brain as a potential cause of risky behavior: a report of 102 autopsy cases

February 1, 2020
Samojlowicz, D. Twarowska-Malczynska, J. Borowska-Solonynko, A. Poniatowski, L. A. Sharma, N. Olczak, M.
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2019, 38: 305 - 317 Toxoplasma gondii Toxoplasmosis Brain Risky behavior Alcohol Mental health Drivers cerebral toxoplasmosis decreased level novelty seeking dopamine parasite host schizophrenia personality depression strategies
Click for abstract
Toxoplasmosis was linked to impairment in brain function, encompassing a wide range of behavioral and neuropsychiatric changes. Currently, the precise localization of Toxoplasma gondii in the human brain is limited and the parasite DNA was not found in population-based screening of autopsy cases. The aim of proposed study was to identify the presence of parasite DNA within the brain and its association with risky behavior and alcohol consumption in postmortem examination. Preliminarily, 102 cases with certain circumstances of death at time of forensic autopsy was included. Due to high risk of bias, the females were excluded from the analysis and final study group consists 97 cases divided into three groups: risky behavior, inconclusively risky behavior, and control group. The obtained tissue samples for Nested PCR covered four regions of the brain: symmetric left/right and anterior/posterior horns of lateral ventricles comprising lining ependyma and hippocampus. The second type of material comprised blood evaluated for antibodies prevalence using ELISA and alcohol concentration using HS-GC-FID. Analysis demonstrated 16.5% prevalence concerning the parasite DNA presence in examined brain tissue samples without specific distribution and association with age at death or days after death until an autopsy was performed. Results have shown correlation between occurrence of risky behavior leading to death and higher proportions of positive parasite DNA presence within the brain. Correlation was not observed between parasite DNA presence and excessive alcohol consumption. Conducted screening demonstrated correlation between parasite DNA presence in the brain with risky behavior and provided new information on possible effects of latent toxoplasmosis.

Tagged: alcohol, brain, Cerebral toxoplasmosis, decreased level, depression, health, host, mental, novelty seeking, Parasite, personality, risky behavior, Schizophrenia, Toxoplasma gondii, toxoplasmosis

BehaviorMental healthPersonality

Effect of toxoplasmosis on personality profiles of Iranian men and women

October 11, 2013
Khademvatan, S., Khajeddin, N., Saki, J., Izadi-Mazidi, S.
South African Journal of Science 2013; 109: 92-95
Click for abstract
There is evidence to suggest that the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, which causes toxoplasmosis, changes the personality of people who are infected with it. The aim of this study was to compare the personality characteristics of Iranian students with and without latent toxoplasmosis. A total of 237 students (111 men and 126 women) of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (Ahvaz, Iran) were tested for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma antibodies and completed demographic questionnaires and Cattell's 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. Data were analysed using multiple univariate analyses of variance. Women with latent toxoplasmosis had a significantly different personality profile from women without toxoplasmosis, namely higher O (apprehension), N (privateness) and Q(4) (tension) scores, and lower Q(1) (openness to change) scores. Infected men had significantly higher L (vigilance, mistrust) scores compared to non-infected men. Factors E (dominance) and Q(1) (openness to change) tended to be higher in infected men than non-infected men but the difference was not quite statistically significant. Our findings have, for the first time, independently confirmed that personality profile is affected by latent toxoplasmosis.

Tagged: elisa, gondii infection, host, human-behavior, Iran, latent toxoplasmosis, link, Parasite, personality characteristic, s cattell's 16pf questionnaire, Toxoplasma gondii

Personality

Is there a relationship between Toxoplasma gondii infection and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease?

October 19, 2010
Celik, T., Kamisli, O., Babur, C., Cevik, M.O., Oztuna, D., Altinayar, S
Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases 2010; 42: 604-608
Click for abstract
Idiopathic Parkinson's disease defines a group of Parkinson's disease (PD) of which the aetiology is unknown but an underlying brain disease is suspected. We selected patients of this subgroup of PD and investigated the seropositivity rate for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibody by Sabin-Feldman dye test (SFDT). By measuring seropositivity in PD patients, we searched for a probable relationship between Toxoplasma gondii infection and idiopathic PD incidence. Fifty patients diagnosed with idiopathic PD and 50 healthy volunteers were included in the study. Blood samples were taken from all 100 participants and anti-T. gondii antibody titres were investigated using SFDT. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were detected at a titre of >= 1/16 in 25 of the 50 patients (50%) and in 20 of the control group (40%). No higher antibody titre was found in the control group. In conclusion, despite the emerging literature on a possible relationship between T. gondii infection and neurological disease, and the high anti-T. gondii seropositivity found in our PD patients, we did not detect any statistically significant association between T. gondii and idiopathic PD.

Tagged: behavior, host, mice, origin, personality

Mental health

Serological survey of Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia patients referred to Psychiatric Hospital, Sari City, Iran

October 19, 2010
Daryani, A., Sharif, M., Hosseini, S. H., Karimi, S. A., Gholami, S.
Tropical Biomedicine 2010; 27: 476-482
Click for abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder of unknown etiology. As there is little information about the association between Toxoplasma gondii infection and schizophrenia in Iran, we investigated the seroprevalence of T. gondii in these patients and compared with that obtained in control individuals in Sari City, Iran, 2009. Eighty schizophrenia patients and 99 healthy people were examined for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies to T. gondii by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Overall prevalence rates of anti-T. gondii antibodies (IgG/IgM) in case and control groups were 72.5% and 61.6%, respectively (P>0.05). IgG antibodies indicating chronic form of toxoplasmosis were found in 28 (35%) and 25 (25.3%) of case and control groups, respectively (P>0.05). IgM antibodies (acute form) were also seen in 9 (11.2%) and 11 (11.1%) of case and control individuals, respectively (P>0.05). The highest 10(th) percentile of IgG titers in schizophrenia individuals (18.8%) was significantly higher than control group (6.1%, P=0.02). As prevalence rate of T. gondii antibodies in patients with schizophrenia was high, it seems that designing a cohort study will determine the causative relationship between Toxoplasma infection and schizophrenia.

Tagged: antibodies, astrocytes, cells, host, individuals, infection, neurons, parasites, primary culture, recent-onset schizophrenia

Mental health

The probable relation between Toxoplasma gondii and Parkinson’s disease

October 19, 2010
Miman, O., Kusbeci, O. Y., Aktepe, O. C., Cetinkaya, Z.
Neuroscience Letters 2010; 475: 129-131
Click for abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD), a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disorder, has a mainly unknown multifactorial etiology. Neuroinflammatory mechanisms might contribute to the cascade of events leading to neuronal degeneration. Toxoplasmosis can be associated with various neuropsychiatric disorders. The most commonly affected central nervous system (CNS) region in toxoplasmosis is the cerebral hemisphere, followed by the basal ganglia, cerebellum and brain stem. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the possible association between Toxoplasma infection and PD by evaluating the serum anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies. There were no difference between the socioeconomic status of the patients and control subjects and magnetic resonance images of the patients were normal. Serum anti-T. gondii IgG levels were measured using ELISA. There was no statistically significant differences among the patients and control subjects with respect to age (66.01 +/- 12.14 years, 62.42 +/- 5.93 years, p = 0.089; respectively) and gender. The sero-positivity rate for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies in PD patients and control groups were 42.3 and 22.5%, respectively, and they were statistically significant (p = 0.006). These results suggest that Toxoplasma infection may be involved in the pathogenetic mechanisms of PD. If confirmed, this hypothesis would represent a valuable advancement in care of patients with Parkinson's disease. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tagged: antibodies, brain, cryptogenic epilepsy, encephalitis, host, infection, metaanalysis, mice, neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, neurons, parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia, Toxoplasma gondii, toxoplasmosis

Mental health

May Toxoplasma gondii increase suicide attempt – preliminary results in Turkish subjects?

October 19, 2010
Yagmur, F., Yazar, S., Temel, H. O., Cavusoglu, M.
Forensic Science International 2010; 199: 15-17
Click for abstract
Suicide attempts are one of the risk factors of suicide. Possible mechanisms by which Toxoplasma gondii may affect human behavior and it may also cause humans to attempt suicide. The aim of this study is to find out whether or not T. gondii is one of the reasons in suicide attempts. We investigated the seropositivity level for anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in subjects who have attempted to suicide to find out whether there is a probable relationship between T. gondii and suicide attempts. In our study, we selected 200 cases of suicide attempts and 200 healthy volunteers. The sero-positivity level for anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies among suicide attempts (41%) was significantly higher than the control group (28%). This signifies that there might be a causal relationship between toxoplasmosis and the etiology of suicide attempt. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tagged: acquired toxoplasmosis, cryptogenic epilepsy, elisa, encephalits, host, human-behavior, impact, neurons, parasites, rats, rattus-norvegicus, suicide attempt, Toxoplasma gondii

BehaviorMental health

Psychosis may be associated with toxoplasmosis

October 26, 2009
Zhu S.
Medical Hypotheses 2009; 73: 799-801.
Click for abstract
Many parasites induce characteristic changes in their host. The effect of Toxoplasma gondii infection on the cerebrum and neuropsychiatric patients has been increasingly emphasized in recent years. T gondii has a high affinity for brain tissue where tachyzoites may form tissue cysts and persist for a life long time. Some psychiatric symptoms such as schizophrenia and mental retardation may be induced by the infection of T gondii. Furthermore, experiments demonstrated that some antipsychotics and mood stabilizers used to treat psychosis displayed the function of inhibiting T. gondii replication. Investigations from various regions in China in psychotic patients support the hypotheses that psychosis may be linked to T gondii infection. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tagged: agents, behavior, Dopamine, gondii, host, infection, parasitosis, rats, risk, Schizophrenia

Mental health

Selected infectious agents and risk of schizophrenia among US military personnel

October 26, 2008
Nielbuhr, D.W., Millikan, A. M., Cowan, D. N., Yolken, R., Li, Y. Z., Weber, N. S.
American Journal of Psychiatry 2008; 165: 99-106
Click for abstract
Objective: A number of studies have reported associations between Toxoplasma gondii (T gondii) infection and the risk of schizophrenia. Most existing studies have used small populations and postdiagnosis specimens. As part of a larger research program, the authors conducted a hypothesis-generating case control study of T. gondii antibodies among individuals discharged from the U.S. military with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and serum specimens available from both before and after diagnosis. Method: The patients (N=180) were military members who had been hospitalized and discharged from military service with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Healthy comparison subjects (3:1 matched on several factors) were members of the military who were not discharged. The U.S. military routinely collects and stores serum specimens of military service members. The authors used microplate-enzyme immunoassay to measure immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels to T gondii, six herpes viruses, and influenza A and B viruses and immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody levels to T. gondii in pre- and postdiagnosis serum specimens. Results: A significant positive association between the T gondii IgG antibody and schizophrenia was found; the overall hazard ratio was 1.24. The association between IgG and schizophrenia varied by the time between the serum specimen collection and onset of illness. Conclusion: The authors found significant associations between increased levels of scaled T gondii IgG antibodies and schizophrenia for antibodies measured both prior to and after diagnosis.

Tagged: antibodies, association, bipolar disorder, brain, exposure, host, individuals, mice, rats, toxoplasma gondii infection

Mental health

Epidemiological evidences from China assume that psychiatric-related diseases may be associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection

January 4, 2007
Zhu, S., Guo, M. F., Feng, Q. C., Fan, J. M.,
Neuroendocrinology Letters, 2007, 28: 115-120
Click for abstract
In recent years, the effect of Toxoplasma gondii infection on psychiatric-related aspects has been increasingly recognized. T gondii has a high affinity for brain tissue where tachyzoites may form tissue cysts and persist life long. In recent years, 15 serological surveys about T gondii infection and psychiatric diseases have been carried out in different areas in China. Studies showed that the prevalence of antibodies against T gondii in psychotic patients was much higher than in normal persons; statistically differences were significant. Studies also reported that raising cats or enjoying the habit of eating raw or under cooked meet were potential risk factors for the infection of T gondii. The epidemiological and serological evidence support the hypothesis that some psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia or mental retardation might be linked to T gondii infection.

Tagged: 1st-episode schizophrenia, antibodies, behavior, cats, host, novelty seeking, parasites, personality changes, psychiatric-related disease, rattus-norvegicus, toxoplasmosis

Mental health

Topics

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  • Cognitive functions 64
  • Mental health 439
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  • Motor functions 10
  • Personality 36
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  • Reviews 40
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  • Uncategorized 2

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Recent articles

  • Mortality Patterns of Toxoplasmosis and Its Comorbidities in Tanzania: A 10-Year Retrospective Hospital-Based Survey February 6, 2020
  • The role of latent toxoplasmosis in the aetiopathogenesis of schizophrenia–the risk factor or an indication of a contact with cat? February 6, 2020
  • The Association between Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Risk of Parkinson’s Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis February 6, 2020

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