The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908) infects humans resulting in acute toxoplasmosis, an infection that in immunocompetent people is typically mild but results in persistent latent toxoplasmosis. In that T. gondii appears to affect dopamine synthesis and because addicting drugs affect midbrain dopamine transmission, latent toxoplasmosis could influence substance use. Using both the third and continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we used logistic regression to test for associations between T. gondii seropositivity and subject self-report of having ever used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine. In the third NHANES dataset, which included data for tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and cocaine, T. gondii seropositivity was associated with a reduced likelihood of self-reported marijuana (OR = 0.71 [95% CI: 0.58; 0.87]; p = 0.001) and cocaine use (OR = 0.72 [95% CI: 0.56; 0.91]; p = 0.006). In the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys dataset, which included data for all six substances, T. gondii seropositivity was associated with a reduced likelihood of self-reported tobacco (OR = 0.87 [95% CI: 0.76; 1.00]; p = 0.044), marijuana (OR = 0.60 [95% CI: 0.50; 0.72]; p < 0.001), heroin (OR = 0.60 [95% CI: 0.42; 0.85]; p = 0.005) and methamphetamine use (OR = 0.54 [95% CI: 0.38; 0.77]; p = 0.001). We observed interactions between sex and T. gondii seropositivity in the prediction of self-reported use of tobacco and alcohol. Further, T. gondii seropositivity appeared to remove the protective effect of education and economic status against self-reported cigarette smoking. These findings suggest that T. gondii seropositivity may be inversely associated with some but not all types of substance use in US adults., Andrew N. Berrett, Shawn D. Gale, Lance D. Erickson, Evan L. Thacker, Bruce L. Brown, Dawson W. Hedges., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Toxoplasma gondii reportedly manipulates rodent behaviour to increase transmission to its definitive feline host. We compared the effects of mouse infection by two Type II strains of T. gondii, Prugniaud (PRU) and ME49, on attraction to cat odour, locomotor activity, anxiety, sensorimotor gating, and spatial working and recognition memory 2 months post-infection (mpi). Attraction to cat odour was reassessed 7 mpi. At 2 mpi, mice infected with either strain exhibited significantly more attraction to cat odour than uninfected animals did, but only PRU-infected mice exhibited this behaviour 7 mpi. PRU-infected mice had significantly greater body weights and hyperactivity, while ME49-infected mice exhibited impaired spatial working memory. No differences in parasite antibody titres were seen between PRU- and ME49-infected mice. The present data suggest the effect of T. gondii infection on mouse behaviour is parasite strain-dependent.
A convincing body of evidence now exists, from both human and animal studies, and encompassing epidemiological to experimental, to indicate that the common protozoan Toxoplasma gondii can cause specific behavioural changes in its host. Such behavioural alterations are likely to be the product of strong selective pressures for the parasite to enhance transmission from its intermediate host reservoir, primarily rodent, to its feline definitive host, wherein sexual reproduction can occur and the parasite's life cycle completed. Here we consider what the available data to date may reveal about the potential mechanisms involved, the future research that needs to be performed, and the subsequent implications for animal and human health.
Background - There is growing interest in the role of microbial agents in the causation of psychiatric disorders. The neurotropic protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is one of the main candidates and has been associated with various psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia. Methods - A narrative review of the literature from the main medical databases (Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO), Google Scholar and Google using combinations of applicable terms. Results - T. gondii affects the brain in both the acute and the latent stages of infection causing apparent brain pathologies in infected rodents and both immuno-compromised and immuno-competent humans. In immuno-competent individuals, behavioural disorders are primarily related to the latent stages of the illness. Behavioural/mental disorders that include schizophrenia, mood disorders, personality changes and cognitive impairments may be related to infection with T. gondii. Evidence for a behavioural effect of T. gondii comes from observational reports in animal models and controlled behavioural analysis in humans. Indirect clues of infection also come from raised seroprevalence or serotitres of antitoxoplasma antibodies among those with mental disorders. The pathophysiologic mechanism through which T. gondii may exert its effect is not clear, but direct impact on the brain and changes in neuroimmunomodulation, neurotransmission and some gene-environment interactions are postulated. Conclusion - There is evidence supporting a potential role of T. gondii infection in the onset of some behavioural disorders. Confirmation of such a role would prove a significant breakthrough in the search for the aetiology, treatment and prevention of behavioural disorders, such as schizophrenia. However, the associations remain preliminary.
Toxoplasmosis is caused by intracellular protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii (Nicolle et Manceaux, 1908). Cats and other felids are the definitive hosts. It could be transmitted to man and animals by consumption of infected undercooked meat and contaminated food items including drinking water. Results of toxoplasmosis epidemiological surveys in animals and humans in South-West, North-West, North-East and North-Central Zones of Nigeria have been reported with greater impact on the health of pregnant women and HIV-infected individuals. Meanwhile, studies in states within the South-South and South-East Zones are relatively scanty or non-existent. Overall, the seroprevalence of human toxoplasmosis in Nigeria is estimated at 32% with the following reports for North-West (32%), North-East (22%), North-Central (24%) and South-West (37%). Information on the genetic diversity of isolates of T. gondii in humans and animals including the role of the environment in transmission and maintenance of the disease are highly needed., John Asekhaen Ohiolei, Clement Isaac., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Toxoplazmóza je velmi častá parazitární infekce, způsobená prvokem Toxoplasma gondii. Onemocnění má většinou benigní průběh, ale závažné komplikace mohou nastat v případě přenosu infekce z matky na plod během gravidity nebo v důsledku reaktivace latentní infekce u imunodefi citních osob. Nejčastější způsob nákazy je konzumace nedostatečně tepelně zpracovaného masa obsahujícího tkáňové cysty. Diagnóza může být stanovena na základě sérologických metod, polymerázové řetězové reakce (PCR), histologie nebo izolace prvoka Toxoplasma gondii., Toxoplasmosis is a very frequent parasitic infection, caused by protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. The course of infection is generally benign, but serious complications can occur after vertical transmission from mother to fetus during pregnancy or reactivation of latent infection in persons with immunodefi ciency. The most frequent way of infection is consumption of uncooked meat containing viable tissue cysts. The diagnosis may be established by serologic tests, polymerase chain reaction, histology, or by isolation of protozoan Toxoplasma gondii., Tomková Jana, Novotný D., Bednaříková J., Schneiderka P., and Lit.:31
Tři obrazy z pozdního období Toyen - V určitou chvíli (1963), Tajný pokoj bez zámku (1966) a Na zámku Silling (1969) - se vyznačují nápadným společným rysem: do každého z nich je vlepena černobílá reprodukce barokního nebo antického sochařského díla s mytologickým námětem. Článek zkoumá postupy, jimiž si Toyen přisvojovala příklady ze starého umění, zabývá se jejím výběrem mytických ženských hrdinek a zamýšlí se nad významem znázornění sochy v malbě. Nejradikálněji zacházela Toyen se zvolenou předlohou v obraze V určitou chvíli, neboť přerušila původní mytologický příběh, obsažený v Berniniho sousoší Apollon a Dafne, osamostatnila přízrak zděšeně prchající ženy a přetočila svůj výstřižek o devadesát stupňů. Navázala na podněty, na které upozornil Salvador Dalí v koláži Fenomén extáze (1933), do níž zapojil snímek "hysterické sochy" z Gaudího architektury. V následujících dvou obrazech Toyen ponechala reprodukovaná díla v původní podobě a pouze je zasadila do souvislostí spjatých s vlastními naléhavými tématy, ať šlo o představu erotizace světa v případě sousoší Amora a Psyche z vykopávek v Ostii (viz Tajný pokoj bez zámku), nebo o těsné sepětí ženy s nebezpečnými přírodními silami, jak je znázornil mélský reliéf Peleus a Thetis (viz Na zámku Silling). Otázka, jakou funkci mají převzaté motivy v obrazivosti Toyen a proč se rozhodla zpřítomnit je prostřednictvím černobílých reprodukcí soch z minulých staletí, odkazuje k Warburgovým formulím patosu. Předstupeň k pracím Toyen lze spatřovat v jeho výkladu, že užití grisaillové techniky pro ztvárnění antických námětů v renesanční malbě mělo udržet antiku v psychické, metaforické a typologické distanci. Zároveň však Warburga zaujal utopický rozměr grisaille, přenášející silné prvotní vášně do arkadického duševního prostoru. Zdá se, že podobné cíle, ovšem za použití moderní techniky koláže, sledovala intuitivně i Toyen. and Three paintings from Toyen's late period - At a Given Moment (1963), A Secret Room without a Lock (1966) and At Silling Castle (1969) - stand out due to a conspicuous trait they share: pasted into each is a black-and-white reproduction of a Baroque or ancient statue with a mythological motif. This article explores the methods Toyen used to appropriate instances from the art of old; it deals with her selection of mythical female figures and contemplates the significance of depicting sculpture in paintings. Toyen was most radical with the original she selected for the painting At a Given Moment, in which she intervened in the primordial mythological story embodied in Bernini's Apollo and Daphne, appropriating the spectre of the fleeing woman and rotating the cut-out ninety degrees. She was thus alluding to subjects which Salvador Dalí had drawn attention to in The Phenomenon of Ecstasy (1933), a collage in which he included a photograph of a 'hysterical or ecstatic statue'. In the other two paintings, Toyen left the reproduced image in its original form and simply inserted it into a set of relationships intertwined with her own pressing themes, whether that meant her desire to eroticize the world in case of Amor and Psyche, excavated at Ostia (see A Secret Room without a Lock), or the tightly interwoven relationship between woman and dangerous natural forces, as portrayed in the Melian relief of Peleus and Thetis (see At Silling Castle). The question regarding the function of the borrowed motifs in Toyen's imaginary world and why she decided to bring them into the present using black-and-white reproductions of sculptures from bygone centuries recalls Warburg's Pathosformen (pathos formulas). Certain precedents relating to Toyen's approach may be seen in the interpretation that the use of the grisaille technique to shape the antique subjects in Renaissance painting was meant to maintain antiquity at a typological distance. At the same time, however, Warburg was captivated by the Utopian dimension of grisaille. It seems that Toyen had similar aims, although she pursued them intuitively, using modern collage techniques.