New Study: "Remarkable" Deterioration in Memory Functions of Seniors Infected by Common Parasite
A new study just published in the scientific journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity documents what scientists describe as “remarkable” working memory performance reductions in seniors 65 and older that test positive for infection by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The parasite is believed to infect about one-third of the world’s population.
The peer-reviewed study was authored by Patrick D. Gajewski, Michael Falkenstein, Jan G. Hengstler, and Klaus Golka of the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Occupational Health, Dortmund, Germany.
According to the study, infected “seniors showed lower performance in the verbal memory test, both regarding immediate recall and delayed recognition. … Substantial differences were also obtained from long-term semantic memory…The size of the effect is remarkable.”
The authors report “for the first time that T. gondi infection significantly deteriorates functions of the episodic and working memory. … Considering the high prevalence and the relatively strong association with cognitive functions, the impact of T. gondi infection on public health may be higher than hitherto expected.” Because of “an increasing population of older adults, this finding is of high relevance for public health.”
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/140220.html
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