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Latent toxoplasmosis and olfactory functions of Rh positive and Rh negative subjects.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUNDS:The prevalence of toxoplasmosis is higher in schizophrenics than in the general population. It has been suggested that certain symptoms of schizophrenia, including changes in olfactory functions, are in fact symptoms of toxoplasmosis that can be easily detected in schizophrenics only due to the increased prevalence of toxoplasmosis in this population. Schizophrenics have impaired identification of odors and lower sensitivity of odor detection, however, no information about these parameters of non-schizophrenic Toxoplasma-infected subjects is available. METHODS:Here we searched for differences in olfactory functions between 62 infected and 61 noninfected non-schizophrenic subjects using the case-controls experimental design. RESULTS:The infected men scored better than the non-infected controls in the standard odor-identification test. The infected women rated all smells as more intensive while the infected men rated nearly all smells as less intensive. Infected women rated the pleasantness of the smell of the cat urine as higher than the non-infected women and the opposite was true for the men-in contrast, higher pleasantness of odor in infected men and lower in infected women were observed and described in the 2011 study. Toxoplasmosis, Rh, and toxoplasmosis-Rh interaction were not associated with the rated pleasantness of the smell of other stimuli. However, our sample contained only 17 Rh negative men and 30 Rh negative women. Therefore, all results concerning the main effects of Rh factor and the interaction with Rh factor must be considered only preliminary. CONCLUSIONS:Our results suggest that latent toxoplasmosis is associated with changes in the olfactory functions in humans; however, the observed changes differ from those observed in schizophrenics.

SUBMITTER: Flegr J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6307871 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Latent toxoplasmosis and olfactory functions of Rh positive and Rh negative subjects.

Flegr Jaroslav J Milinski Manfred M Kaňková Šárka Š Hůla Martin M Hlaváčová Jana J Sýkorová Kateřina K

PloS one 20181227 12

<h4>Backgrounds</h4>The prevalence of toxoplasmosis is higher in schizophrenics than in the general population. It has been suggested that certain symptoms of schizophrenia, including changes in olfactory functions, are in fact symptoms of toxoplasmosis that can be easily detected in schizophrenics only due to the increased prevalence of toxoplasmosis in this population. Schizophrenics have impaired identification of odors and lower sensitivity of odor detection, however, no information about th ...[more]

PMID: 30589911

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Depression is a frequent comorbidity in HIV infection that has been associated with worse treatment outcomes and increased mortality. Recent studies suggest that increased innate immune activation and tryptophan catabolism are associated with higher risk of depression in HIV infection and other chronic inflammatory diseases, but the mechanisms leading to depression remain poorly understood. METHODS:The severity of depressive symptoms was assessed by Beck Depression Inventory or Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Untargeted metabolomic profiling of plasma from 104 subjects (68 HIV-positive and 36 HIV-negative) across 3 independent cohorts was performed using liquid or gas chromatography followed by mass spectrometry. Cytokine profiling was by Bioplex array. Bioinformatic analysis was performed in Metaboanalyst and R. RESULTS:Decreased monoamine metabolites (phenylacetate, 4-hydroxyphenylacetate) and acylcarnitines (propionylcarnitine, isobutyrylcarnitine, isovalerylcarnitine, 2-methylbutyrylcarnitine) in plasma distinguished depressed subjects from controls in HIV-positive and HIV-negative cohorts, and these alterations correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms. In HIV-positive subjects, acylcarnitines and other markers of mitochondrial function correlated inversely with tryptophan catabolism, a marker of interferon responses, suggesting interrelationships between inflammatory pathways, tryptophan catabolism, and metabolic alterations associated with depression. Altered metabolites mapped to pathways involved in monoamine metabolism, mitochondrial function, and inflammation, suggesting a model in which complex relationships between monoamine metabolism and mitochondrial bioenergetics contribute to biological mechanisms involved in depression that may be augmented by inflammation during HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS:Integrated approaches targeting inflammation, monoamine metabolism, and mitochondrial pathways may be important for prevention and treatment of depression in people with and without HIV.

Dataset Information

Latent toxoplasmosis and olfactory functions of Rh positive and Rh negative subjects.

Publications

Latent toxoplasmosis and olfactory functions of Rh positive and Rh negative subjects.

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