LatentToxoplasmosis gondii: Emerging Evidence for Influences on Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis gondii (T. gondii) an intracellular parasite discovered in 1908, is present in about one-third of the world’s population; once infected, hosts remain seropositive for life. (Known exposure risks are feline feces; raw or undercooked meat; raw oysters, clams, and mussels; and unwashed raw fruits and vegetables.) Various studies worldwide have found personality/adjustment difficulties, such as increased anxiety, in otherwise-healthy seropositive individuals, and seropositivity in schizophrenia patients was found to be almost three times that of a control population. Unlike the acute form, chronic latent T. gondii infection resides in intact neurons; and there is considerable variation in findings of structures affected, although there does appear to be a predilection for dopaminergic neurons.