It’s Been Proven – Crazy Cat Ladies Truly Are Crazy

n/a

By: Beverly Moore  AlienAdam Reporter 7-3-2012

Do you feel that your cats are driving you crazy?  Well, you may be right.  Researchers have found women infected with the Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasite, which is spread through contact with cat feces (or eating undercooked meat or unwashed vegetables) are at increased risk of attempting suicide. The infection, called toxoplasmosis, has been linked to mental illness, such as schizophrenia and changes in behavior.

The T. gondii parasite thrives in the intestines of cats. It is spread through oocysts passed in their feces. All warm-blooded animals can become infected through ingestion of these oocytes. The organism spreads to their brain and muscles, hiding from the immune system within “cysts” inside cells.

Humans can become infected by changing their infected cats’ litter boxes, eating unwashed vegetables, drinking water from a contaminated source, or more commonly, by eating undercooked or raw meat that is infested with cysts.

Not washing kitchen knives after preparing raw meat before handling another food item also can lead to infection. Pregnant women can pass the parasite directly to their unborn babies and are advised not to change cat litter boxes to avoid possible infection.

A study involving more than 45,000 women in Denmark states that about a third of the world’s population is infected with this parasite, which hides in cells in the brain and muscles, often without producing symptoms.

The study’s senior author, Doctor Teodor Postolache, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the United States, said: “We can’t say with certainty that T. gondii caused the women to try to kill themselves, but we did find a predictive association between the infection and suicide attempts later in life that warrants additional studies.  We plan to continue our research into this possible connection.  We hope that this type of research will one day help us find ways to save many lives that now end prematurely in suicide.”

Doctor Albert Reece, vice president of medical affairs at the University of Maryland, said: “T. gondii infection is a MAJOR public health problem around the world, and many people don’t realize they’re infected.

The study is the largest ever of T. gondii and attempted suicide, and the first prospective study to document suicide attempts that occurred after the infection was discovered.

Dr. Postolache’s research team at the University of Maryland were the first to report a connection between T. gondii and suicidal behavior in 2009. He is collaborating with researchers in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden to confirm and investigate the mechanism leading to this association.

The findings were published online in the Archives of General Psychiatry

http://www.alienadam.com/

Read more at Alien Adam