Exposure to Microorganisms and Adult Psychiatric Disorders: The Case for a Causal Role of Toxoplasma gondii

摘要: Since the 1970s there has been an increasing interest in infectious agents as possible causes of serious mental illness. The microorganism which most intensively studied is Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite carried by felines. Several lines research have suggested that T. gondii associated with schizophrenia: increased prevalence antibodies individuals this disease, and mothers who give birth to later are so diagnosed; childhood contact cats fact affects several neurotransmitters makes dopamine; some antipsychotics suppress gondii. But any evidence association etiological? Austin Bradford Hill published criteria for assessing etiological associations between environmental factors complex diseases. His include strength association, consistency findings, specificity temporality relationship, biological gradient, plausibility coherence analogy other data, experimental data. Using these criteria, it concluded relationship cases schizophrenia reasonable.