Relationship between Toxoplasma gondii infection and dysfunctional diseases of the hippocampus / 西安交通大学学报(医学版)

ABSTRACT

The hippocampus, a crucial structure for neuronal plastic response, participates in various aspects of higher function of the brain. Toxoplasma gondii is prevalent in humans and seropositivity of toxoplasma is estimated to be more than 30% in the world. This review summarizes the recent findings on the role of toxoplasma infection in hippocampus-dysfunctional diseases with an emphasis on the underlying mechanisms. Those hippocampus-dysfunctional diseases include epilepsy, schizophrenia, cognitive disorder, and depression. Also, this review discusses the potential problems or limitations of previous studies on this subject, and at the same time raises novel strategies for treating hippocampus-dysfunctional diseases, especially cryptogenic or treatment-resistant diseases.