Normal parasite can bring to suicide

The parasite, which was considered a relatively safe and is found in a large number of people, in fact, cause subtle changes in the brain that contribute to the manifestation of suicidal tendencies.

A new study linking infectious parasite Toxoplasma gondii invasion of suicidal behavior, was published in the August issue of the American journal "Clinical Psychiatry". One of the leaders of the study was an employee of the Michigan State University Lena Brundin.

"Approximately 10-20% of the U.S. population are infected with toxoplasmosis, but the scientific community has always been assumed that toxoplasmosis in humans - an intermediate host - behaves inactive" - ​​says Brundin, Associate Professor of Experimental Psychiatry, University of Michigan. The research is based on the premise that, entering the human body, the parasite causes a "long-playing" inflammation, in which noxious metabolites that damage brain cells.

Brundin said that the discovery of symptoms of inflammation of the brain in suicide victims and those suffering from depression, was observed in previous studies, that is, the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and suicide attempts is not a revelation to scientists, "But now we have a specific statistical information, that if a person is found toxoplasma, it is 7 times more prone to suicide. "

Job Brundin and her colleagues were the first in which the special assessment by suicidal scale analyzed suicidal tendencies among people infected with the parasite.


Toxoplasma gondii

The results showed that the infected person toxoplasmosis were more prone to suicide, and the greater the degree of contamination, the more they were placed on a scale, which means high risk of suicide attempts in the future. In this Brundin said that most infected nothing will not commit suicide, "Some people have certain psychological characteristics that make them more prone to suicide. Suicidality - a global problem of modern health care and society in general. Thus, in the United States in 2009 committed suicide 36,909 people, or someone take his own life every 14 minutes. At the same time, 90% of these individuals had any mental illness. Thus, the ability to identify suicide in the early stages by screening for toxoplasmosis will identify potential risk suicidal subjects. "

Toxoplasma gondii - an intracellular parasite, the ultimate owner of which are cats. Man he passed along with water or food containing eggs of the parasite. Since, in addition to human, the parasite can be found in other mammals, there is a chance of infection and the consumption of undercooked raw meat.

Brundin studied the link between depression and the presence of inflammation in the brain for over 10 years, starting with her own scientific work on Parkinson's disease. A typical group of drugs used in depressive states are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These drugs increase the concentration in the brain neurotransmitter serotonin, but at the same time to have any effect on their administration reached only half of the patients. Brundin study indicates that reducing the concentration of serotonin may be a symptom, not the root cause of depression. Inflammation localized in the brain, caused, perhaps, Toxoplasma causes disruptions in biochemical processes, and under certain circumstances, cause suicidal thoughts.