Myra Raney
@myralynnr
17 February, 07:43
A microscopic parasite may be doing more inside the brain than we ever imagined.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that Toxoplasma gondii — a common parasite carried by roughly 30% of people in the United States — can interfere with how brain cells communicate, even when it infects only a small number of neurons.
Rather than causing widespread damage, the parasite appears to subtly rewire communication pathways.
The study found that infected neurons release fewer extracellular vesicles (EVs) — tiny molecular packets that neurons use to send messages to surrounding cells, including astrocytes. Astrocytes are critical support cells that regulate brain chemistry, balance neurotransmitters, and maintain overall neural stability.
When EV signaling drops, glutamate levels can rise.
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that Toxoplasma gondii — a common parasite carried by roughly 30% of people in the United States — can interfere with how brain cells communicate, even when it infects only a small number of neurons.
Rather than causing widespread damage, the parasite appears to subtly rewire communication pathways.
The study found that infected neurons release fewer extracellular vesicles (EVs) — tiny molecular packets that neurons use to send messages to surrounding cells, including astrocytes. Astrocytes are critical support cells that regulate brain chemistry, balance neurotransmitters, and maintain overall neural stability.
When EV signaling drops, glutamate levels can rise.
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Cultural habits of a population may affect the acquisition of T. gondii infection from ingested tissue cysts in undercooked meat. For example, in France the prevalence of antibody to T. gondii is very high in humans. Though 84% of pregnant women in Paris have antibodies to T. gondii, only 32% in New York City and 22% in London have such antibodies [1]. The high incidence of T. gondii infection in humans in France appears to be related in part to the French habit of eating some meat products raw or undercooked. In contrast, the high prevalence of T. gondii infection in Central and South America is probably due to high levels of contamination of the environment by oocysts 1]. As stated above, the relative frequency of acquisition of toxoplasmosis from eating raw meat and that due to ingestion of oocysts from cat feces is impossible to determine, and as a result, statements on the subject are at best controversial.
https://www.sciencedirect....
https://www.sciencedirect....
08:22 AM - Feb 17, 2026
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