I found this a few years ago but I don't know many people personally who I can talk about subjects like this without it being completely one-sided due to their complete lack of input due to the fact they aren't familiar with the topic and refuse to ask questions.
Quote:
Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa. Its life cycle can be completed only in cats and other felids, which are the definitive hosts. However, T. gondii also infects a wide variety of intermediate hosts, including humans. In many mammals, T. gondii is known to be an important cause of abortions and stillbirths and to selectively infect muscle and brain tissue. A variety of neurologic symptoms, including incoordination, tremors, head-shaking, and seizures, have been described in sheep, pigs, cattle, rabbits, and monkeys infected with T. gondii.
Humans may become infected by contact with cat feces or by eating undercooked meat. The importance of these modes of transmission may vary in different populations. Individual response to Toxoplasma infection is determined by immune status, timing of infection, and the genetic composition of the host and the organism.
Toxoplasma organisms have also been shown to impair learning and memory in mice and to produce behavioral changes in both mice and rats. Of special interest are studies showing that Toxoplasma-infected rats become less neophobic, leading to the diminution of their natural aversion to the odor of cats. These behavioral changes increase the chances that the rat will be eaten by a cat, thus enabling Toxoplasma to complete its life cycle, an example of evolutionarily driven manipulation of host behavior by the parasite.
In humans, Toxoplasma is an important cause of abortions and stillbirths after primary infection in pregnant women. The organism can also cross the placenta and infect the fetus. The symptoms of congenital toxoplasmosis include abnormal changes in head size (hydrocephaly or microcephaly), intracranial calcifications, deafness, seizures, cerebral palsy, damage to the retina, and mental retardation. Some sequelae of congenital toxoplasmosis are not apparent at birth and may not become apparent until the second or third decade of life. Hydrocephalus, increased ventricular size, and cognitive impairment have also been noted in some persons with schizophrenia and other forms of psychosis.
|
There is more information on the web page this is from:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol9no11/03-0143.htm#dis
I wrote a research paper on schizophrenia in children when I was 15 and wrote basically a follow-up research paper a few months later, which had a lot of information on T. Gondii being associated as a cause to schizophrenia.
What do you think about a parasite being able to cause schizophrenia?
