Mind-Altering Cat Parasite May Trigger Frailty in Older People
HEALTH
13 November 2023
ByDAVID NIELD
Cat With Orange Eyes
(Tengyart/Unsplash)
An infamous parasite primarily carried by cats, Toxoplasma gondii, could be responsible for increased frailty in older adults, a new study reveals – and with 11-15 percent of people in the US thought to have been infected by it at some point, that's a significant finding.
The discovery, made by an international team of researchers, adds to what we already know about T. gondii: that it can cause flu-like symptoms in many, and more serious issues such as seizures in people with weaker immune systems.
"We often think of T. gondii infection as relatively asymptomatic, but this study highlights that for some people it may have significant health consequences later on," says physiologist Christopher Lowry from the University of Colorado Boulder
.
The research team suspected that the parasite may be one of the causes of 'inflammaging', or persistent age-related inflammation that contributes to frailty. Blood tests from 601 Spanish and Portuguese adults aged over 65 were analyzed for measures of frailty, including unintentional weight loss, tiredness, and loss of mental sharpness.
HEALTH
13 November 2023
ByDAVID NIELD
Cat With Orange Eyes
(Tengyart/Unsplash)
An infamous parasite primarily carried by cats, Toxoplasma gondii, could be responsible for increased frailty in older adults, a new study reveals – and with 11-15 percent of people in the US thought to have been infected by it at some point, that's a significant finding.
The discovery, made by an international team of researchers, adds to what we already know about T. gondii: that it can cause flu-like symptoms in many, and more serious issues such as seizures in people with weaker immune systems.
"We often think of T. gondii infection as relatively asymptomatic, but this study highlights that for some people it may have significant health consequences later on," says physiologist Christopher Lowry from the University of Colorado Boulder
.
The research team suspected that the parasite may be one of the causes of 'inflammaging', or persistent age-related inflammation that contributes to frailty. Blood tests from 601 Spanish and Portuguese adults aged over 65 were analyzed for measures of frailty, including unintentional weight loss, tiredness, and loss of mental sharpness.
