Cerebral toxoplasmosis diagnosed by brain tissue PCR analysis in an immunocompetent patient

Pustorino, Giuseppe; Ferlazzo, Edoardo; Carpentieri, Maria; Cianci, Vittoria; Gasparini, Sara; Campello, Mauro; Milardi, Giovanni Luigi; Gangemi, Antonio; Aguglia, Umberto

doi:10.1212/cpj.0000000000000364

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…It is a lifelong condition for humans who are not immunocompromised, contrary to those with autoimmune diseases [ 10 , 18 ], chronic corticosteroid applications [ 19 ], bone-marrow transplants or patients with AIDS [ 20 ]. In these cases the latent form can turn into an active, acute form, with consequences for the brain [ 21 ], eyes, senses and other structures. Most pregnant women with acute acquired infection do not experience obvious symptoms or signs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxoplasmosis impact on prematurity and low birth weight

et al. 2022

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Background Toxoplasma gondii, one of the most common parasites, causes toxoplasmosis, one of the most frequent zoonotic diseases worldwide. T. gondii infects about one-third of the world’s population. T. gondii infection is generally considered a major risk for spontaneous abortion, prematurity and low birth weight in the animal sphere. Less commonly, a toxoplasma serological profile is correlated with the particular data of delivery. Acute T. gondii infection during pregnancy often leads to spontaneous abortion and/or a severe injury of the eyes, brain, and other structures of the foetus. Latent T. gondii infection of pregnant women could lead to less obvious but important changes during pregnancy, including the end product of pregnancy and the timing of labour. This study aimed to contribute to the current knowledge by comparing serological T. gondii profiles of pregnant women with prematurity and low birth weights of newborns. Material and methods A retrospective study design was adopted. The study participants included a cohort of 1733 pregnant women who consecutively gave birth to their children and underwent regular antenatal biochemical screening between the 14th and 16th weeks of pregnancy. Prematurity was defined as the liveborn preterm delivery in gestational age of pregnancy <37 weeks. Low birth weight was defined as weight at birth of ≤2499 grams. The complement-fixation test (CFT) provided serological profiles for toxoplasmosis that expresses the overall levels of toxoplasma immunoglobulins of all classes. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for IgG and IgM were used simultaneously. IgM positivity helped to differentiate acute from the latent stage of toxoplasmosis. Birth data, especially the week of delivery and fetal weight, were evaluated accordingly. Results Of the 1733 pregnant women, 25% were diagnosed as latent toxoplasma positive, and 75% as toxoplasma negative. There were 87 premature deliveries versus 1646 timely births. We observed 88 low birth weights and 1645 normal fetal weights. We found a statistically significant association between latent toxoplasmosis and prematurity, χ2(1) = 5.471, p = .019 and between latent toxoplasmosis and low birth weight of newborns, χ2(1) = 7.663, p = .006. There was a 1.707 times higher risk of prematurity for toxoplasma-positive women, while the risk for low birth weight was 1.861 times higher. The strength of both tests of association was mild. We tested the correlation between the levels of CFT titres and week of delivery and weight of newborns. No association was found between the level of latent toxoplasmosis and the week of delivery and fetal weight. Conclusion Latent toxoplasmosis was associated with premature birth rate and lower birth weight of newborns. The odds of premature delivery was 1.7 and low birth weight 1.9 times higher in women with latent toxoplasmosis compared to toxoplasma negative women. Even though the strength of the association in our large sample is relatively mild, the combination of latent toxoplasmosis with other adverse factors could cause serious harm. Whole CFT and specific IgG levels of latent toxoplasmosis are not linked to the severity of prematurity or low birth weight in newborns.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxoplasmosis impact on prematurity and low birth weight

et al. 2022

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“…It is a lifetime condition for humans who are not immunocompromised. In humans with autoimmune diseases (17,26), chronic corticosteroid applications (27), bone-marrow transplants, or AIDS (28), it can progress into an active acute form leading to consequential impairment of the brain, eyes, senses and other structures (29). Many pregnant women with acute infection experience no obvious symptoms or signs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation of toxoplasmosis with small‑for‑gestational‑age newborns

HURT,

KODYM,

STEJSKAL

et al. 2024

BLL

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BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii infection in pregnant women could lead to signifi cant changes during the pregnancy, affect the outcomes of pregnancy and the timing of labour. Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) newborns are defi ned by birthweight below the 10th percentile for gestational age. We tested an association between latent toxoplasmosis in pregnant women and deliveries of SGA babies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: For testing, we included 1,647 women who gave birth to a singleton baby at ≥ 37 weeks of gestation. The complement-fi xation test (CFT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) tests for IgG and IgM were used. The latent form of toxoplasmosis was defi ned as a CFT titre of 1:8 or higher, together with index positivity IgG ELISA > 1.1 and negative IgM. RESULTS: There were 406 (24.7 %) women positive, and 1,241 (75.3 %) women negative for latent toxoplasmosis. Of all deliveries. 190 were SGA-positive and 1,457 were SGA-negative. Our study found a statistically signifi cant association between latent toxoplasmosis and SGA foetuses born at term. The Pearson chi-square model was statistically signifi cant (χ 2 (1) = 7.365, p = .007). The odds ratio was 1.567. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women with latent toxoplasmosis giving birth at ≥ 37 weeks of gestation have a 1.567 times higher risk of delivering an SGA baby (Tab. 2, Fig. 1, Ref. 30

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“…Toxoplasma gondii , an obligate intracellular protozoan, causes toxoplasmosis, an acquired infection that is generally asymptomatic in healthy people, causing self-limited, bilateral, symmetrical, non-tender lymphadenopathy or a mononucleosis-like illness in about 10% of the population [ 1 ]. Toxoplasmosis represents 60% of localized intracerebral masses in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and rarely occurs in immunocompetent individuals [ 1 ]. Patients who develop deficient cell-mediated immunity, such as those with AIDS, are at risk of reactivating latent toxoplasmosis infection, which can manifest as cerebral toxoplasmosis [ 2 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurotoxoplasmosis in the Immunocompetent: A Rare Occurrence

Khalid¹,

Memon²,

Jumani³

et al. 2023

Cureus

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Cerebral toxoplasmosis is a rare condition that predominantly affects immunocompromised people and is relatively uncommon in immunocompetent individuals. Acute toxoplasmosis primarily presents with focal and diffuse neurological signs and symptoms depending on the site of the lesion, the degree of local damage, and the severity of inflammation. In this report, we present a case of cerebral toxoplasmosis in an immunocompetent adult female who presented with an altered level of consciousness, fever, headache, and shortness of breath. This case highlights the diagnostic challenges that may arise when dealing with patients who have a wide range of clinical manifestations.

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Cerebral toxoplasmosis diagnosed by brain tissue PCR analysis in an immunocompetent patient

Cited by 5 publications

References 6 publications

Toxoplasmosis impact on prematurity and low birth weight

Toxoplasmosis impact on prematurity and low birth weight

Correlation of toxoplasmosis with small‑for‑gestational‑age newborns

Neurotoxoplasmosis in the Immunocompetent: A Rare Occurrence

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