khat : whether you think they are trusted , furry , independent companions capable of alittle mischiefor you consider them to be more akin tomurdering psychopaths , there ’s no denying that they are a ubiquitous feature of modern society . We all know someone that owns one , or several . In a potential blow to cat hoarder , novel research on a parasite commonly run by cats – Toxoplasma gondii – suggests that it can be linked to genial unwellness in proprietor , particularly schizophrenic disorder .
T. gondiiis , as sponger incline to be , fairly deceptive . It has been shown toalter the behaviorof mouse , causing them to become " self-destructive . " computer mouse have acute olfactory glands , meaning that they have a keen sense of scent . Whenever they can smell cat urine , they run to avoid it , suspicious of the nearby threat . If infected withT. gondii , however , they are not averse to it ; in many cases , they actively wander towards the smell . This , as you might require , leaves them exposed to kat depredation . After a straightaway pounce and kill , the mouse – along with its piggybacking parasite – are ingested by the cat .
cat are only the legion wherein the parasite is able to sexually multiply . After the parasite produce new testicle within the cat , they are discharge as it defecates . These eggs are able to last for many months in a variety of juiceless and temperate climates , ready to taint another warm - blooded host .
This can , unfortunately , include humans . Although the sponger can not reproduce within a human host , it can causetoxoplasmosis . Apart from being acutely severe to those infected during gestation or those with a weakened resistant system , there has been small evidence indicating a negative effect on sizable , infected grownup humans . This is despite the fact that in the U.S. alone over 60 million people may be infected , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) .
This field of study , published in the journalSchizophrenia Research , examines whether the possession of a guy during puerility is more mutual in families with members who proceed on to germinate genial health disorder after on in sprightliness . The research worker state that two earlier subject field came to this conclusion and , using an broad survey , attempted to replicate the finding . They were successful , reinforcing the link between early cat possession and later - life schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses .
It is crucial to note that this study only play up an association , rather than sayingT. gondiiis responsible . This is inviolable circumstantial grounds , not definitive substantiation of movement , and no studies have yet look into potential underlie mechanism . However , a second study put out in the journalActa Psychiatrica Scandinavicaactually looked at this relationship more forthwith . After scrutinizing 50 peer - refresh studies on the issue , the investigator here showed that an private infected withT. gondiiwas almost double as potential to arise dementia praecox in later life .
Antipsychotic drugs , normally used to treat patient with dementia praecox , also be given to work innegating the impression of toxoplasmosisin both rats and humans , imply that there is indeed a link between the parasite and mental health , but at present tense , it appear to stay a clearly uncertain one .
[ H / T : Time Magazine ]
