Society and culture
"Crazy cat-lady"
"Crazy cat-lady syndrome" is a term coined by news organizations to describe scientific findings that link the parasite Toxoplasma gondii to several mental disorders and behavioral problems. The suspected correlation between cat ownership in childhood and later development of schizophrenia suggested that further studies were needed to determine a risk factor for children; however, later studies showed that T. gondii was not a causative factor in later psychoses. Researchers also found that cat ownership does not strongly increase the risk of a T. gondii infection in pregnant women.The term crazy cat-lady syndrome draws on both stereotype and popular cultural reference. It was originated as instances of the aforementioned afflictions were noted amongst the populace. A cat lady is a cultural stereotype of a woman who compulsively hoards and dotes upon cats. The biologist Jaroslav Flegr is a proponent of the theory that toxoplasmosis affects human behaviour. Notable cases
Tennis player Arthur Ashe developed neurological problems from toxoplasmosis (and was later found to be HIV-positive). Actor Merritt Butrick was HIV-positive and died from toxoplasmosis as a result of his already-weakened immune system. Pedro Zamora, reality television personality and HIV/AIDS activist, was diagnosed with toxoplasmosis as a result of his immune system being weakened by HIV. Prince François, Count of Clermont, pretender to the throne of France had congenital toxoplasmosis; his disability caused him to be overlooked in the line of succession. Actress Leslie Ash contracted toxoplasmosis in the second month of pregnancy.
While the majority of these studies tested people already diagnosed with schizophrenia for T. gondii antibodies, associations between T. gondii and schizophrenia have been found prior to the onset of schizophrenia symptoms. Sex differences in the age of schizophrenia onset may be explained in part by a second peak of T. gondii infection incidence during ages 25–30 in females only. Although a mechanism supporting the association between schizophrenia and T. gondii infection is unclear, studies have investigated a molecular basis of this correlation. Antipsychotic drugs used in schizophrenia appear to inhibit the replication of T. gondii tachyzoites in cell culture. Supposing a causal link exists between T. gondii and schizophrenia, studies have yet to determine why only some individuals with latent toxoplasmosis develop schizophrenia; some plausible explanations include differing genetic susceptibility, parasite strain differences, and differences in the route of the acquired T. gondii infection.Correlations have also been found between antibody titers to T. gondii and OCD, as well as suicide among people with mood disorders including bipolar disorder. Positive antibody titers to T. gondii appear to be uncorrelated with major depression or dysthymia. Although there is a correlation between T. gondii and many psychological disorders, the underlying mechanism is unclear. A 2016 study of 236 persons with high levels of toxoplasmosis antibodies found that "there was little evidence that T. gondii was related to increased risk of psychiatric disorder, poor impulse control, personality aberrations or neurocognitive impairment".