Do cat parasites cause schizophrenia?

[AngryAmish]

<http://loom.corante.com/archives/2006/01/17/the_return_of_the_puppet_masters.php>

"Are brain parasites altering the personalities of three billion people? The question emerged a few years ago, and it shows no signs of going away.

I first encountered this idea while working on my book Parasite Rex. I was investigating the remarkable ability parasites have to manipulate the behavior of their hosts. The lancet fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum, for example, forces its ant host to clamp itself to the tip of grass blades, where a grazing mammal might eat it. It's in the fluke's interest to get eaten, because only by getting into the gut of a sheep or some other grazer can it complete its life cycle. Another fluke, Euhaplorchis californiensis, causes infected fish to shimmy and jump, greatly increasing the chance that wading birds will grab them.

Those parasites were weird enough, but then I got to know Toxoplasma gondii. This single-celled parasite lives in the guts of cats, sheddding eggs that can be picked up by rats and other animals that can just so happen be eaten by cats. Toxoplasma forms cysts throughout its intermediate host's body, including the brain. And yet a Toxoplasma-ridden rat is perfectly healthy. That makes good sense for the parasite, since a cat would not be particularly interested in eating a dead rat. But scientists at Oxford discovered that the parasite changes the rats in one subtle but vital way."

There is much more after the jump.

In sum, a parasite present in cat feces and rats causes rats to lose fear of cats. Thus they get eaten by cats and the circle of life goes on. This same parasite is very prevalent in folks with schizophrenia. About half the human race is infected.

So, why do people own cats anyway? Maybe the parasite is making them crazy.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

1. Nah. If the parasite makes rats unafraid of cats...

logic says you people who don't like cats are just un-assimilated yet. :)

[Maru Kitteh]

2. I don't own any cats

However I do feed and provide medical care, toys, catnip, and cozy beds to three cats that decided to keep me. :P

[Warpy]

3. I am owned by two cats

both purebreds and both Humane Association rescues. Since I have no children and just lost my last close relative in the world, I would be a whole lot crazier without the uncritical affection given by those two slightly neurotic furballs.

There is no more comforting sound in the world than a cat's contented purr.

[megatherium]

4. There was an article about this a couple of months ago

in Esquire.

[Stephanie]

26. I read that.

He said it's like a virus, that kids get infected from contact with cat feces, that it manifests years later as schizophrenia. It was a good article and intriquing idea.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

5. Nope, just Neo-Cons. n/t

[EFerrari]

6. Why schizophrenia? Why not just cat collecting? : )

/I can't spell

[wiley]

7. I thought it was birds.

That parasite that drives ants to crawl up the grass is so the parasite can infect birds.
Most people ini the US, at least, get toxo from either walking barefoot in dirt with feces in it, or by eating rare or undercooked beef. It can happen when eating chicken feces, but the chicken meat ironically carries stronger pathogens like salmonella, etc. It used to be a huge problem with pregnant women in the southern US who ate clay and or dirt during their pregnancy for mineraal supplementaation. Good thing we now have vitamins and readily accessible supplements.

In any case, Toxo can be pretty easily eradicated in non-immunocompromised human hosts. It's a little more difficult in aging or immunocompromised.

As for the psychological aspects? The shedding of oocytes in the body definitely causes some pretty severe problems in some people. Unfortunately, even identifyiing the antibodies to Toxo in the human host does not lead docs to treat it. Pity. Parasites suck and can CAUSE severe immune system problems in humans as well.

[KoKo]

18. YES!!! Bird Flu....Bird Flu....Bird Flue...!!! That stuff will Kill ya'..

Kill the birds and kill the cats..it's the ONLY WAY YOU WILL BE SAVE!

DANGER...........DANGER.............DANGER.................DANGER!!!!!

[wiley]

22. Treat Them

Why kill them?

[stray cat]

8. You can also get it from eating undercooked meat

or vegetables or anything else that are not well washed. Occasionally it contaminates water supplies.

[lastknowngood]

9. That is no way to talk about can owners.

n/t

[VOX]

12. "Can" owners? Are you calling my cats "cans?"

You have nerve! :) :toast:

[AngryAmish]

24. "He hates these cans!!!!"

[VOX]

10. Both of me have thought this through, and we say fooie!

Our (my) parasites are cat-free! :crazy:

[SPKrazy]

11. So Maybe When The Voices Tell Them Not To Take Their Meds

it's the Toxoplasma talking to them telling them to stop taking their meds since the meds kill toxoplasma.

I don't know about this but the theory that exposure to toxoplasma in utero may be associated with developing schizophrenia is a very interesting theory.

More research needs to be done about what causes schizophrenia as it is a devastating disease and the treatments are never 100% for someone afflicted.

[renate]

13. strep throat in kids can sometimes lead to a psychiatric disorder

Scary.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16225742&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15995031&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15820236&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

For more of a synopsis:
http://www.adhd.com.au/PANDAS.htm

[redwitch]

14. My friend's son is obsessive compulsive after strep episode

It was so bizarre when he first started exhibiting the symptoms. Out of nowhere he was terrified of strange things- like he was hallucinating. Afraid of fire raining down on the roof. He was 6 or 7 when this happened. Now he is 11 or 12 and the symptoms are manageable. He still freaks out over things that no one else would and storms are really scary for him. It is so sad. :cry:

[applegrove]

15. I think it is dangerous for pregnant women to handle cat litter.

And that is why. Dangerous for the baby.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

17. Highly Unlikely, Toxicplasmosis. It's way overdramatized. The risk is

basically nill.

[applegrove]

19. Everywhere you go - they warn preggers not to touch the cat litter.

I'd rather not have to worry. Especially now with fewer cats getting outside.

[AlienGirl]

21. If your cats don't get outside, they're far less likely to carry toxo

Cats usually get it from eating rodents, which they catch outside. Humans usually get it from undercooked meat, rather than cat feces, so pregnant women must be careful to cook all meat thoroughly, as well as put someone else on litterbox duty.

Tucker

[KoKo]

16. OFGS! Are you into the Salem Witch Hunts, here?

Quote from you:

In sum, a parasite present in cat feces and rats causes rats to lose fear of cats. Thus they get eaten by cats and the circle of life goes on. This same parasite is very prevalent in folks with schizophrenia. About half the human race is infected.

So, why do people own cats anyway? Maybe the parasite is making them crazy.

Do you HATE Cats THAT MUCH? :shrug:

[AngryAmish]

25. Full disclosure: I do hate cats.

The "Maybe the arasite is making them crazy" is just anti-cat hyperbole. But please read the article because it is very interesting.

[Cleita]

20. Funny, I don't know about mice, but I have actually seen a

gopher come up from his hole and challenge a cat that was trying to pull him out of the hole. It did have the effect of surprising the cat for a minute or two. I don't know who won that confrontation cause I was on my way somewhere else, but it sure was odd.

[alcibiades_mystery]

23. Domestic cats are already "parasites"

That is, they put out signals that cause you to take care of them, etc., in the same way an orchid "traces" the shape of a wasp in order to make itself attractive to the wasp. The "cuteness" of domestic cats is an evolutionary advantage over, say, the weasl, and cats have installed themselves into general human ecologies.

Addendum: I have a cat.