Czech scientists' discovery might prevent schizophrenia outbreak

Prague, March 6 (CTK) - People with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia might prevent the outbreak of this serious mental disease by avoiding cats, this ensues from a discovery of Czech scientists from the Prague Psychiatric Centre, Professor Jiri Horacek, one of the authors of the discovery, has told CTK.

The scientists have found out that brain changes typical of people with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia are caused by the interaction of the predisposition and toxoplasmosis infection.

The discovery will be presented to the broad public on European Day of the Brain on March 11. Horacek published it in the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry last year.

In the first stage the scientists worked with brown rats. Later they compared a group of healthy people and a group of schizophrenics.

The latter group was divided in those with toxoplasmosis antibodies and those not having them.

"Our research has clearly showed that the morphological changes that are found in the brains of schizophrenic patients all over the world are caused by the interaction of toxoplasmosis infection with the human brain and the genetic predisposition to schizophrenia," Horacek said.

The cause of toxoplasmosis, protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, is wide-spread. One third of humankind is infected with it, but this has been considered insignificant from the medical point of view until now.

The Czech scientists are now trying to confirm the important discovery and explain the mechanism with which this infection causes changes in the cerebral cortex that lead to schizophrenia in people with a genetic predisposition.