Inflammation in the Brain
Lena Brundin, of Michigan State University, co-led the new study. She told the press that between one in ten and one in five people in the US carry the parasite, and while it was thought to lie dormant, it in fact appears to cause inflammation that produces metabolites that accumulate over time and can harm the brain.
“Previous research has found signs of inflammation in the brains of suicide victims and people battling depression, and there also are previous reports linking Toxoplasma gondii to suicide attempts,” said Brundin, an associate professor of experimental psychiatry in the College of Human Medicine at MSU.
For example, last month saw the publication of a study that linked higher suicide risk in new mothers to T. gondii.
What the New Study Found
The study is the first to use a suicide assessment scale to assess risk in people infected with the parasite, including 54 who had attempted suicide and 30 controls. All patients were adults and were recruited between 2006 and 2010, and were tested for signs of the parasite. The 54 who had attempted suicide were inpatients at Lund University Hospital in Sweden, and the controls were randomly selected from the municipal population register in Lund.
The results showed testing positive for the parasite was significantly tied to higher scores on the scale, which would indicate a higher risk of a future suicide attempt.
“… we found that if you are positive for the parasite, you are seven times more likely to attempt suicide,” said Brundin.
However, Brundin emphasized that most people infected with the parasite are unlikely to attempt suicide:
“Some individuals may for some reason be more susceptible to develop symptoms,” she explained.
Published by connie dello buono
Connie Dello Buono is based in Sunnyvale California. Her first ebook is about women's health, Birthing Ways Healing Ways and her recent one is about cancer prevention, Curated Healing Ways. She had helped women have holistic childbirth as childbirth educator, founded Motherhealth, to serve seniors in the bay area with holistic caregivers and blogs at www.clubalthea.com with more than 10,000 health and finance related posts.
Connie trains her own caregivers, which are the favorites of most bay area seniors who are home bound and alone.
She is active in the rehab and nursing facilities, volunteering on music and movement for seniors.
She is a member of Lion's club and offered scholarships to students in the Philippines.
She is active at churchinsunnyvale.us and has Fridays Bible home study in Sunnyvale using the recovery version of the Bible , free at biblesforamerica.us
She loves dancing and teaching and her courses can be found at
https://teachclub.com/@thriveafter60
She is California Life Insurance licensed providing life insurance for older adults with health issues and helping women retire safely with income for life.
at menloassetca.com , she helps with 401k rollover.
3 Benefit plans
- Mortgage protection using term life insurance to pay for mortgage balance in event of death
- Final Expense plan using Single Issue Whole Life Insurance, with cash back, disability benefit and guaranteed in the presence of health issues
- Fixed Index Annuity retirement plan for safe, accessibility, less fees, less taxes, avoids probate as it goes directly to beneficiaries, rate of return with no downside market participation.
She brings compassion and understanding to the needs of her clients, bringing holistic approach in health and life insurance. Her goal is to free families from worries especially during covid with caregivers and life insurance in the presence of health issues, especially for women.
She can be reached at 408-854-1883 , motherhealth@gmail.com
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