scholarly journals Association between Toxoplasma gondii Infection in Brain and a History of Depression in Suicide Decedents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1313
Author(s):  
Cosme Alvarado-Esquivel ◽  
Laura Alejandra Mendoza-Larios ◽  
Fernando García-Dolores ◽  
Luis Francisco Sánchez-Anguiano ◽  
Elizabeth Irasema Antuna-Salcido ◽  
...  

We assessed the association between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection of the central nervous system and suicide correlates in suicide decedents. Eighty-seven decedents who died by suicide received in a forensic setting for medico-legal autopsies in Mexico City were studied. Two samples of brain (amygdala and prefrontal cortex) from each decedent were examined for detection of T. gondii using immunohistochemistry. Correlates of suicide including a history of previous suicide attempts, co-morbid mental disorder, consumption of alcohol or tobacco, irritability and aggression, economic problems, presence of drugs or alcohol in blood and suicide method were obtained and analyzed for their association with T. gondii infection. T. gondii immunohistochemistry was positive in prefrontal cortex sections in 6 decedents and in an amygdala section in one decedent. Thus, the prevalence of T. gondii infection in brain in suicide victims was 8.0% (7/87). Bivariate and logistic regression analysis of suicide correlates showed that only a history of depression was associated with T. gondii infection of the brain in suicide victims (OR: 12.00; 95% CI: 2.26–63.46; p = 0.003). Our results provide evidence that T. gondii infection in brain is associated with a history of depression in suicide decedents.


Neurology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. e202-e207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan L. Schultz ◽  
Annie Killoran ◽  
Peg C. Nopoulos ◽  
Chloe C. Chabal ◽  
David J. Moser ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo determine whether tetrabenazine (TBZ) use is associated with an increased incidence of depression and/or suicidal ideation.MethodsIn this retrospective cross-sectional study of the Enroll-HD database, we used multiple logistic regression analyses to determine whether TBZ use is associated with an increased incidence of depression and/or suicidal ideation. For both dependent variables (depression and suicidality), separate analyses were conducted on (1) all participants, (2) only participants with a history of depression, and (3) only participants with no history of depression. Adjustments were made for CAG repeat length, total motor score, total functional capacity, Symbol Digit Modalities Test score, sex, disease duration, history of depression (when applicable), antipsychotic use, and antidepressant use.ResultsCompared to participants who were not using TBZ (n = 3,548), TBZ users (n = 543) did not have an increased risk of depression (odds ratio [OR] = 0.78, p = 0.064). Participants taking TBZ actually had a relatively lower risk of suicidality (OR = 0.61, p = 0.043). Among only participants with a history of depression, those using TBZ had a lower incidence of depression (OR = 0.71, p = 0.016) and suicidal ideation (OR = 0.57, p = 0.028) compared to those not using TBZ. Finally, among only participants with no history of depression, TBZ use was not associated with a higher incidence of depression (OR = 1.59, p = 0.18) or suicidality (OR = 1.43, p = 0.66) compared to those who were not using TBZ.ConclusionsTBZ use was not associated with an increased incidence of depression or suicidality. These findings suggest that TBZ may be safe to use in patients with Huntington disease who have a history of depression.





PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0245572
Author(s):  
Nurul Fadilah Ali Polanunu ◽  
Sitti Wahyuni ◽  
Firdaus Hamid

The protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii is estimated to infect one-third of the world’s population. Infection in pregnant women can cause severe conditions for their babies. Until now, there is no data regarding Toxoplasma infection from Makassar pregnant mothers. This study aims to obtain information on Toxoplasma specific antibodies and to measure the risk factor associate with parasite infection. This cross-sectional study conducted in 9 of 47 primary health centres (Puskesmas) in Makassar. Blood samples and questionnaires were collected from 184 pregnant women aged 15–42 years old from September to October 2020. ELISA technique was used to examine the IgG and IgM antibodies. Univariable and multivariable analyses were carried out to measure factors that independently associate with Toxoplasma antibody positivity. Our result showed the range of Toxoplasma IgM and IgG are 0.06–1.01 and 0.09–3.01, respectively. While no one of our participants has an acute Toxoplasma gondii infection (IgM positive), we found 32,6% pregnant mothers are exposed to parasite (positive IgG). Contact with cats [OR(95%CI): 10.45(3.77–28.99)], consume chicken satay [OR(95%CI): 9.72(3.71–25.48)] and consume un-boiled water/ filtered water [OR(95%CI): 5.98(1.77–20.23)] are independently associate with positive Toxoplasma IgG antibody. Based on the result, we conclude that pregnant women in Makassar are exposed to T. gondii and the oocyst and tissue cyst of parasite contaminates food and water in Makassar.



2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa J. T. Seran ◽  
Billy J. Kepel ◽  
Fatimawali .

Abstract: Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii in humans and also in animals. Toxoplasma gondii infection is widespread in the world, about 20-90% of the populations have been exposed to this parasite, and most take place without showing specific symptoms. The purpose of this study was to determine the seroepidemiology of toxoplasmosis among the villagers of kumu in district minahasa on 2015. This study was a cross sectional descriptive study. The study population was Kumu Village community. This study using blood specimens to be tested by latex agglutination test and interviews to determine the distribution of toxoplasmosis is based on risk factors. Seropositive obtained if agglutination occurs on the results of serological tests. Respondents consisted of 20 (90.90%) females and 2 (9.10%) men. The results showed 11 (50%) of respondents has toxoplasma seropositivity were distributed by age, sex, level of education, occupation, diet, hygiene, exposure to dogs, exposure to cats, and a history of miscarriage.Keywords: latex agglutination test, parasites, seropositivity, toxoplasma gondiiAbstrak: Toksoplasmosis merupakan penyakit yang disebabkan oleh Toxoplasma gondii pada manusia dan juga pada hewan. Infeksi Toxoplasma gondii tersebar luas di dunia, sekitar 20-90% populasi dunia pernah terpapar parasit ini, dan sebagian besar berlangsung tanpa menunjukkan gejala yang spesifik. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui seroepidemiologi toksoplasmosis pada masyarakat di Desa Kumu Kabupaten Minahasa tahun 2015. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif cross sectional. Populasi penelitian ini adalah masyarakat Desa Kumu. Penelitian ini menggunakan spesimen darah untuk diuji dengan uji aglutinasi lateks dan hasil wawancara untuk mengetahui distribusi toksoplasmosis berdasarkan faktor resiko. Seropositif didapat bila terjadi aglutinasi pada hasil tes serologis. Responden terdiri dari 20 (90,90%) wanita dan 2 (9,10%) pria. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan 11 (50%) responden seropositif toksoplasmosis yang terdistribusi berdasarkan umur, jenis kelamin, tingkat pedidikan, pekerjaan, pola makan, higienitas, paparan anjing, paparan kucing, dan riwayat keguguran.Kata kunci: uji aglutinasi lateks, parasit, seropositif, toxoplasma gondii



2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 444-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Kwan ◽  
Brian Draper ◽  
Samuel B Harvey ◽  
Zoltan H Endre ◽  
Mark A Brown

Objective:Depression in dialysis patients is often undetected despite associations with poor outcomes. The aim was to determine the prevalence and associations of depressive symptoms and physician recognition of depression within a typical Australian dialysis population.Method:A cross-sectional study examined haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients of two hospitals in Sydney. Participants were screened for depression using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).Results:One hundred and ten patients completed the HADS. Subjects had a mean age of 63.7 years, 37% from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, and median dialysis duration of 2 years. Forty-one per cent of participants had significant depressive symptoms, of whom 42% had been diagnosed with depression by their clinicians. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors, having >10 medications prescribed, >3 hospitalisations in the last 12 months, and a history of depression were associated with depression.Conclusion:Depressive symptoms are prevalent in Australian dialysis patients. Robust evidence is needed on the effectiveness of treatments for depression in changing outcomes in chronic kidney disease.



2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 269-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Limon ◽  
Wendy Beauvais ◽  
Nikolaos Dadios ◽  
Isabelle Villena ◽  
Charlotte Cockle ◽  
...  




2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Bhavana Singh ◽  
Linda Batsa Debrah ◽  
Godfred Acheampong ◽  
Alexander Yaw Debrah

Background. This study investigated the prevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among pregnant women in a district-level hospital in Ghana and compared the diagnostic performance of the rapid diagnostic test (RDT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for T. gondii diagnosis. Method. This cross-sectional study included 400 consecutive consenting women in their first-trimester stage of pregnancy. A validated well-structured closed-ended questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic data and possible risk factors of each participant. Blood samples were collected for analysis of T. gondii IgG and IgM using the commercial ELISA Kit and RDT. Results. Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis was 21.5% and 57.3% based on the RDT and ELISA technique, respectively. Secondary education ( cOR = 1.9 , 95% CI (1.1-3.1), and p = 0.020 ) and contact with cats ( cOR = 1.7 , 95% CI (1.1-2.8), and p = 0.030 ) were significant predictors of T. gondii infection, with the former being the only independent risk factor for T. gondii infection ( aOR = 1.8 , 95% CI (1.0-3.0), and p = 0.034 ) by the ELISA method. The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) of RDT-IgM against ELISA were 42.9%, 95.9%, and 0.694, respectively, whereas those of RDT-IgG were 31.0%, 91.2%, and 0.611, respectively. The diagnostic consistency between the two methods was fair for both RDT-IgM ( κ = 0.304 ) and RDT-IgG ( κ = 0.201 ). Conclusion. The prevalence of T. gondii infection among pregnant women at Kumasi is 21.5% and 57.3% based on the RDT and ELISA technique, respectively. Secondary education and contact with cats were the major risk factors of T. gondii infection. Using ELISA as the reference, the RDT used in this study for the diagnosis of T. gondii infection has low sensitivity, and therefore, it is unreliable. However, this finding does not invalidate all RDTs because there are several other brands of RDT with good sensitivity and specificity. Further studies to ascertain the performance of other commercially available RDT kits are needed.



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