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Toxoplasma gondii & Human Phenotype

Compendium of Known Effects and Ongoing Research

personality-disorder

Toxoplasma gondii  infection: Relationship with aggression in psychiatric subjects

October 6, 2016 Leave a Comment
Coccaro, E. F., Lee, R., Groer, M. W., Can, A., Coussons-Read, M., Postolache, T. T.,
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 2016; 77: 334-341.
Click for abstract
Objective: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), a protozoan parasite that persists in host tissues, including brain, has been associated with several psychiatric disorders and with suicidal behavior. We sought to test the hypothesis that latent T. gondii infection, as manifest by circulating immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to T. gondii, is associated with both categorical and dimensional measures of aggression. Method: IgG antibodies to T. gondii were collected between 1991 and 2008 from 358 adult subjects with DSM-5 intermittent explosive disorder (IED), non-IED psychiatric disorders (psychiatric controls), or no evidence of any psychiatric diagnosis (healthy controls). Assessments of aggression, anger, and impulsivity, as well as state/trait anger, depression, and anxiety were completed. T. gondii seropositive status (IgG > 12 IU) was the primary outcome measure for this study. Results: T. gondii seropositive status (IgG > 12 IU) was associated with higher aggression (P = .022) and impulsivity (P = .05) scores. When both aggression and impulsivity scores were controlled for, however, only aggression scores were higher in seropositive subjects (P = .011). In addition, T. gondii seropositive status and marginal mean +/- SE aggression scores increased from healthy controls (9.1% and -0.66 +/- 0.05) to psychiatric controls (16.7% and -0.27 +/- 0.05) to subjects with IED (21.8% and 1.15 +/- 0.06; P = .05). These findings were not accounted for by the presence of other syndromal/personality disorders or by states or traits related to depressed or anxious moods. Conclusions: These data are consistent with previous studies suggesting a relationship between T. gondii and self-directed aggression (ie, suicidal behavior) and further add to the biological complexity of impulsive aggression both from a categorical and a dimensional perspective.

Tagged: antibody-titers, behavior, humans, intermittent explosive disorder, mood disorders, personality-disorder, risk factors, Schizophrenia, suicide attempts, united-states

Mental healthPersonality

The diagnosis of a personality disorder increases the likelihood for seropositivity to Toxoplasma gondii in psychiatric patients

October 19, 2010
Hinze-Selch, D., Daubener, W., Erdag, S., Wilms, S.
Folia Parasitol (Praha) 2010; 57: 129-135
Click for abstract
Individuals serologically positive for the chronic infection with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (TG) display certain personality traits differently from uninfected individuals. Experimental data in mice demonstrate that TG infection modulates behaviour. However, psychiatric patients with a personality disorder have not yet been investigated systematically. In our sample containing 896 psychiatric inpatients with the primary diagnoses of schizophrenia, major depression, schizoaffective or bipolar disorder and 214 psychiatrically unaffected controls (same geographic region, sampled during same time period) we analysed for effects of the additional diagnosis of a personality disorder in the patients. Psychiatrically, a patient can meet the criteria of a personality disorder additionally to any of the mentioned primary diagnoses. We applied logistic regression and cross-table statistics, separated groups by the presence/absence of a personality disorder (ICD-10) and adjusted for age between groups. We found that among all patients the additional diagnosis of a personality disorder was significantly associated with TG infection. Furthermore, only in the patients with an additional personality disorder medium titre responses (1:16-1:64) were associated with chronic course and high C-reactive protein (CRP) levels whereas high titre response (>1:64) was associated with a more acute recurrent clinical course. In the older individuals only there was a preponderance of medium titre responses (1:16-1:64) among the patients with personality disorder compared to those without and controls. We conclude that TG infection and the host's response to it make a difference for the diagnosis of a personality disorder. Our data support that TG infection can modulate human behaviour and personality traits.

Tagged: 3-dioxygenase, activation, association, astrocytes, cells, individuals, indoleamine 2, infection, Major depression, nitric-oxide synthase, personality-disorder, Schizophrenia, serology, Toxoplasma gondii, tryptophan depletion

BehaviorMental health

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