Toxoplasma gondii seropositivity is negatively associated with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Background: Toxoplasma (T.) gondii is a ubiquitous intracellular parasitic protozoan that was recently associated with various autoimmune diseases.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies between MS patients and healthy controls.

Methods: Sera from 163 MS, 91 clinically isolated syndrome cases and 178 age and gender matched controls were evaluated for the prevalence of T. gondii IgG antibodies utilizing chemiluminescent immunoassay (ARCHITECT).

Results: MS-patients showed a significantly lower prevalence for T. gondii IgG antibodies compared to controls (33.3% vs. 47.9%; p=0.011, OR=1.8 (95% CI 1.2-3.2)).

Conclusion: The results demonstrate a negative association between an infection with the parasite T. gondii and the presence of MS.

Keywords: Case–control studies; Hygiene hypothesis; Multiple sclerosis; Parasitic infections; Toxoplasma gondii.