New Study Associates Parasite With Various Neuropsychiatric and Behavioral Conditions
Oct 01, 2020
At the beginning of summer, health authorities in several states announced warnings against amoeba in freshwater lakes that cause a severe brain infection. A recent study highlights a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii, or T. gondii, and its association with neuropsychiatric and behavioral conditions.
Scientists from Imperial College London’s London Centre for Neglected Tropical Disease Research published their study in the cell journal Trends in Parasitology. Evidence suggests that T. gondii may be an underestimated threat to the world. (See link for article)
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**Comment**
Cats have been simplistically blamed for the infection as the parasite is found in cat feces. Pregnant women have been warned to either wear gloves when changing cat litter or get someone else to do it: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/20/brazil-569-confirmed-cases-of-toxoplasmosis-of-which-50-are-pregnant-women/
You can also get it from undercooked meat: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/06/toxoplasmosis-outbreak-due-to-undercooked-deer-meat-from-illinois/
It was also found in 2009 in Ixodes ricinus ticks (endemic in Europe, also called the castor bean tick) Fact sheet: https://ecdc.europa.eu/en/disease-vectors/facts/tick-factsheets/ixodes-ricinus
Migratory birds are transporting ticks worldwide.
More on Toxoplasmosis: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/05/21/toxoplasmosis/
T. gondii has been connected to:
- schizophrenia (150,000 – 300,000 cases)
- Alzheimer’s disease
- bipolar disorder
- epilepsy
- obsessive-compulsive and addictive disorders https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/08/01/risky-business-linking-t-gondii-entrepreneurship-behaviors/
- non-fatal suicide attempts (500,000 – 2.9 million)
- miscarriages (can be congenitally transmitted)
- congenital toxoplasmosis (babies suffer with developmental issues and other abnormalities)
Regarding treatment the article states parasites notoriously evolve and resist drugs over time.
Researchers state that treatment and prevention need to expand beyond acute diseases and congenital transmission.
They also report that early trials of JAG21, a tetrahydroquinolone (a semi-hydrogenated derivative of quinoline), removed 100% of active T. gondii and that they hope to develop it into a nasal spray.
Excerpt from study:
Further, JAG21 is efficacious against drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in vitro (Malaria). Causal prophylaxis and radical cure are achieved after P. berghei sporozoite infection with oral administration of a single dose (2.5 mg/kg) or 3 days treatment at reduced dose (0.625 mg/kg/day), eliminating parasitemia, and leading to 100% survival. Enzymatic, binding, and co-crystallography/pharmacophore studies demonstrate selectivity for apicomplexan relative to mammalian enzymes. JAG21 has significant promise as a pre-clinical candidate for prevention, treatment, and cure of toxoplasmosis and malaria. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2020.00203/full
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