Dec.
6, 2012 — Toxoplasma is a common 'cat parasite', and has previously been
in the spotlight owing to its observed effect on risk-taking and other human
behaviours. To some extent, it has also been associated with mental illness. A
study led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now demonstrates
for the first time how the parasite enters the brain to influence its host.
"We
believe that this knowledge may be important for the further understanding of
complex interactions in some major public health issues, that modern science
still hasn't been able to explain fully," says Antonio Barragan,
researcher at the Center for Infectious Medicine at Karolinska Institutet and
the Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control. "At the same time,
it's important to emphasize that humans have lived with this parasite for many
millennia, so today's carriers of Toxoplasma need not be particularly
worried."
The
current study, which is published in the scientific journal PLoS
Pathogens, was led by Dr Barragan and conducted together with researchers at Uppsala
University.
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