Spanish study links toxoplasmosis to human frailty

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite that reproduces in cat species, whether domestic, feral or wild. Infected mice lose the fear of cat urine and are more likely to be preyed upon spreading the parasite even more. 

Virtually all hogs in confinement are infected and so are at least a third of Americans. The effects on the gene pool are catastrophic often leading to neuropsychiatric diseases including paranoia, especially in men. Toxoplasmosis is linked to Gender Identity Disorder, too. 

Toxoplasmosis has been linked to risky behavior in wolves after they ingested cougar scat while living in and around Yellowstone National Park. Toxoplasmosis has been linked to depressed mood, feelings of guilt and even suicide in humans. If you’ve lived with a cat litter box in your house you are probably already infected with toxoplasma gondii. 

Our study, performed in an Iberian older adult population with high T. gondii seroprevalence, is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to link serological markers of chronic T. gondii infection with frailty. We identified an association between T. gondii IgG serointensity in T. gondii positive individuals and frailty, resisting sequential adjustments for multiple variables including demographic factors, depression, cognitive deficits, medical comorbidities, and immune-related biomarkers individually associated with both T. gondii serointensity and frailty. [Toxoplasma gondii IgG Serointensity Is Positively Associated With Frailty]

While the parasite can be treated it is never completely eliminated.

The history of the domestic cat in Central Europe https://t.co/LqIOsUuseU pic.twitter.com/3qtKE4NA3z

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