Immunological effects of Toxoplasma infection and its relationship with Alzheimer's disease.

Toxoplasma gondii is a forced intracellular parasite considered one of the most successful pathogens in the world due to the immune response provoked to produce long lasting infections in humans. This parasite has a preference for invading neurons, and this could lead to neurological and behavioral damage causing cognitive impairment. Subsequent findings have involved Toxoplasma gondii in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. It could be explained by the strong immune response, which produces inflammatory cytokines and neurotransmitter imbalance, triggered to remove the parasite from the body. Several studies, in both human and animal models, have reported controversial results. Some of them have found an association as a causal factor between toxoplasmosis and the appearance of dementia. However, other authors have not found an association between these two entities or have even found T. gondii as a neuroprotective factor in dementia. Due to all these contradictory data reported in the literature, the aim of this project is to review the most recent findings related to the positive and negative immunological effects of Toxoplasma gondii on the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Publicación de un artículo internacional en revista indexada.