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.
Highlights
Toxoplasma gondii is a common heteroxenous and polyxenous protozoan parasite which is globally widespread causing infection in virtually most warm-blooded mammal species, including humans [1, 2]
These included drivers who were classified as indisputable perpetrators of traffic accidents (n = 35), individuals who died as a result of substance overdose (n = 5), and other individuals who died as a result of disregarding reasonable safety precautions (n = 2), where the first died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and the second was a pedestrian
Despite considerable progress in basic and translational research concerning infectious diseases and their management, toxoplasmosis still consists a valid and challenging global problem [32]. This is directly related with the complex adaptable nature of this parasite, which is associated with its determinants of high virulence and transmission mode [33]
Summary
Toxoplasma gondii is a common heteroxenous and polyxenous protozoan parasite which is globally widespread causing infection in virtually most warm-blooded mammal species, including humans [1, 2]. Reported observations from several studies support the concept that T. gondii infection followed by a local presence of parasite alters the concentration of neurotransmitters in the brain revealing one of the potential pathomechanisms leading to development of behavioral and neuropsychiatric changes by modulation of DA and its metabolite levels [23]. Given the evidence linking parasite infection to several behavioral and neuropsychiatric changes, the Department of Forensic Medicine at Medical University of Warsaw in collaboration with other academic departments of the university conducted extensive studies in an attempt to evaluate the precise identification of T. gondii DNA within the human brain and its association with risky behavior and alcohol consumption occurrence among an analyzed population in postmortem examination. Since this potential correlation has not been presented yet in the available literature, the results of the abovementioned studies pertaining to a correlation between T. gondii infection and risky behavior along with alcohol consumption have been presented in this manuscript
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