Toxoplasma Gondii Exposure and Neurological Disorders: An Age- and Gender-Matched Case-Control Pilot Study

• Published in: European journal of microbiology & immunology 2017-12, Vol.7 (4), p.303-309
• Main Authors: Alvarado-Esquivel, Cosme, Rico-Almochantaf, Yazmin Del Rosario, Hernández-Tinoco, Jesús, Quiñones-Canales, Gerardo, Sánchez-Anguiano, Luis Francisco, Torres-González, Jorge, Schott, Björn, Liesenfeld, Oliver, Dunay, Ildiko Rita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Causes of; Demographic aspects; Health aspects; Nervous system diseases; Original; Toxoplasma
• ISSN: 2062-509X; 2062-8633
• DOI: 10.1556/1886.2017.00033

Little is known about the association of infection and neurological disorders. We performed a case-control study with 344 patients with neurological diseases and 344 neurologically healthy age- and gender-matched subjects. Sera of participants were analyzed for anti- . IgG and IgM antibodies using commercially available immunoassays. Anti- . IgG antibodies were detected in 25 (7.3%) cases and in 35 (10.2%) controls (odds ratio [OR] = 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40-1.18; = 0.17). Anti- . IgM antibodies were found in 5 (14.3%) of the 25 IgG seropositive cases and in 13 (37.1°%) of the 35 IgG seropositive controls (P = 0.15). Anti- . IgG antibodies were found in 8 (3.8%) of 213 female cases and in 23 (10.8%) of 213 female controls (OR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.14-0.73; = 0.005); and in 17 (13.0%) of 131 male cases and in 12 (9.2%) of 131 male controls ( = 0.32). No direct association between IgG seropositivity and specific neurological disorders was detected. We found no support for a role of latent infection in the risk for neurological disorders in this setting. With respect to specific neurological disorders, further studies using larger patient cohorts will be required.