Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders

Nascimento, Fernanda S.; Dantas, Clarissa de Rosalmeida; Netto, Mário Pincelli; Mella, Lucas Francisco Botequio; Suzuki, Lisandra Akemi; Banzato, Cláudio E. M.; Rossi, Claudio

doi:10.1016/j.schres.2012.08.036

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(6 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Following our systematic search 2866 studies were found, from which 50 studies were finally included (see flowchart in Fig. ) . Of these studies, four were unpublished (Hammer C, Ehrenreich H. 2014, personal communication, Torrey E. 2003, personal communication, Gallo C. 2005, personal communication, and Dickerson F. 2005, personal communication).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…IgM antibodies against T. gondii often indicate an acute infection and this was explored in 22 studies, most of them ( n = 19) in schizophrenia. Because four studies did not find IgM antibodies in cases and controls , fifteen studies remained for analysis (Gallo C. 2005, personal communication). Except for some studies in China and Iran , most studies found very few subjects with IgM antibodies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Beyond the association. Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction: systematic review and meta‐analysis

Sutterland

Fond

Kuin

et al. 2015

Acta Psychiatr Scand

376

313

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the association. Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction: systematic review and meta‐analysis

Sutterland

Fond

Kuin

et al. 2015

Acta Psychiatr Scand

376

313

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus, epidemiological and serological studies have demonstrated an association between toxoplasmosis and an increased incidence of this disease (Nascimento et al, 2012; Torrey et al, 2007; Torrey et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2006). Of interest in this regard, antipsychotic drugs inhibit parasite replication in vitro (Jones-Brando et al, 2003) and reverse some behavioral abnormalities in T. gondii -infected rats (Webster et al, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of kynurenine pathway metabolism in Toxoplasma gondii-infected mice: Implications for schizophrenia

Notarangelo

Wilson

Horning

et al. 2014

Schizophrenia Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Toxoplasma gondii, an intracellular protozoan parasite, is a major cause of opportunistic infectious disease affecting the brain and has been linked to an increased incidence of schizophrenia. In murine hosts, infection with T. gondii stimulates tryptophan degradation along the kynurenine pathway (KP), which contains several neuroactive metabolites, including 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-HK), quinolinic acid (QUIN) and kynurenic acid (KYNA). As these endogenous compounds may provide a mechanistic connection between T. gondii and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, we measured KP metabolites in both brain and periphery of T. gondii-treated C57BL/6 mice 8 and 28 days post-infection. Infected mice showed early decreases in the levels of tryptophan in brain and serum, but not in the liver. These reductions were associated with elevated levels of kynurenine, KYNA, 3-HK and QUIN in the brain. In quantitative terms, the most significant increases in these KP metabolites were observed in the brain at 28 days post-infection. Notably, the anti-parasitic drugs pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine, a standard treatment of toxoplasmosis, significantly reduced 3-HK and KYNA levels in the brain of infected mice when applied between 28 and 56 days post-infection. In summary, T. gondii infection, probably by activating microglia and astrocytes, enhances the production of KP metabolites in the brain. However, during the first two months after infection, the KP changes in these mice do not reliably duplicate abnormalities seen in the brain of individuals with schizophrenia.

show abstract

“…Many of these studies reported higher levels of antibodies (IgG and, in some studies, IgM) against T. gondii in patients with schizophrenia than in other populations, including patients with a different psychiatric disorder [32,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. However, findings have been inconsistent [52,53], and account should be taken of the publication bias against studies without significant results [11].…”

Section: Studies Based On the Detection Of Anti-toxoplasma Gondii Antmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxoplasma gondii and Schizophrenia: A Relationship That Is Not Ruled Out

Sorlózano-Puerto¹,

Gutiérrez‐Fernández²

2016

Schizophrenia Treatment - The New Facets

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over recent years, it has been proposed that some diseases of unknown origin, such as schizophrenia, may be caused by persistent chronic infections coupled with a genetic component and may be perpetuated by the immune system. This hypothesis is supported by epidemiological and biological evidence on the exposure of schizophrenics to infectious diseases during prenatal or postnatal periods, including Toxoplasma gondii, chlamydia, human herpes virus, human endogenous retroviruses, parvovirus B19, mumps, and flu viruses. This growing list of microbes will undoubtedly continue to increase in the future. Linking infection to schizophrenia is a complex challenge that requires further experimental and epidemiological research. T. gondii is the infectious agent that has most frequently been related to neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, and it is considered to represent a highly useful model to analyze the influence of a microorganism on human behavior and the development of psychiatric disease. It may also help to detect patient subpopulations susceptible to treatment with specific antimicrobials by improving definition of the differential phenotype of the disease, and it offers the possibility of a preventive approach.

show abstract

Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in patients with schizophrenia and mood disorders

Cited by 12 publications

References 7 publications

Beyond the association. Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction: systematic review and meta‐analysis

Beyond the association. Toxoplasma gondii in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and addiction: systematic review and meta‐analysis

Evaluation of kynurenine pathway metabolism in Toxoplasma gondii-infected mice: Implications for schizophrenia

Toxoplasma gondii and Schizophrenia: A Relationship That Is Not Ruled Out

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About