Toxoplasmosis Topics

• antibody titer
• pregnancy losses
• tyrosine hydroxylase
• foetal abnormalities
• neonatal screening
• prospective research
• causal relationship
• behavioural changes
• human brain
• prenatal testing
• carl zimmer
• first exposure
• dopamine
• doctor visit
• cultural differences
• unborn baby
• determinant
• women women
• loom

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Toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasmosis

A positive antibody titer indicates previous exposure and immunity and largely ensures the unborn baby's safety. A simple blood draw at the first pre-natal doctor visit can determine whether or not the woman has had previous exposure and therefore whether or not she is at risk. If a woman receives her first exposure to toxoplasmosis while pregnant, the baby is at particular risk.

As invasive prenatal testing incurs some risk to the fetus (18.5 pregnancy losses per toxoplasmosis case prevented ), postnatal or neonatal screening is preferred. The exceptions are cases where foetal abnormalities are noted, and thus screening can be targeted.

No prospective research has been done on the topic, e.g., testing people before and after infection to ensure that the proposed behavior arises only afterwards. Although some researchers have found potentially important associations with toxoplasma, the causal relationship, if any, is unknown, i.e., it is possible that these associations merely reflect factors that predispose certain types of people to infection. However, many of the neurobehavioral symptoms that are postulated to be due to toxoplasmosis correlate to the general function of dopamine in the human brain, and the fact that toxoplasmosis upregulates the production of dopamine-stimulating tyrosine hydroxylase enzymes makes it likely that neurobehavioral symptoms can result from infection.

It also suggests that these men are deemed less attractive to women. Women carriers are suggested to be more outgoing, friendly, more promiscuous, and are considered more attractive to men compared with non-infected controls. The results are shown to be true when tested on mice, though it is still inconclusive. A few scientists have suggested that, if these effects are genuine, prevalence of toxoplasmosis could be a major determinant of cultural differences. Carl Zimmer, The Loom.

It's another take on vampires. There is much said about Toxoplasmosis in the story and specifically on the behavioural changes taking place in the hosts supporting the storyline.

Source: Wikipedia > Toxoplasmosis