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CATS

As part of our research on infectious

agents as possible causes of schizophrneia and bipolar disorder

(manic-depressive illness), the Stanley Laboraratory for Developmental

Neurovirology is also researching how such infectious agents could theoretically

be transmitted to humans.  Cats are being investigated as one possible

reservoir for infections.  It should be stressed that at this time we

have no proof that cats are involved in causing these diseases, and we are not

advocating that anyone avoid contact with their cats or otherwise change their

behavior toward cats.  We are merely exploring the possibility as one

line of research with the goal of developing new methods for disease prevention

and treatment.

Why even consider cats at all? 

There are several reasons to do so:

1.  Cats carry at least 30

infectious agents which are known to be transmitted  to humans.  The

best known of these are rabies, the bacteria which causes cat scratch disease,

and toxoplasmosis. Some pediatric cancer specialists also suspect that some

childhood leukemias may be associated with a virus carried by cats but this has

not been proven.

2.  Areas of the world in which

cats are very common (e.g. Ireland, Scandinavia) have a comparatively high

prevalence of schizophrenia and areas in which cats are not common (e.g. Papua

New Guinea) have a comparatively low prevalence.

3.  Cats being widely kept as

housepets is a comparatively recent phenomena, starting in the early-mid 19th

century in England and North America.  The increased prevalence of cats as

housepets coincides temporally with the increased prevalence of schizophrenia

and bipolar disorder according to one analysis (see E.F. Torrey and J. Miller, The

Invisible Plague: Rising Mental Illness from 1750 to the Present,

Rutgers University Press, to be published late 2001).

4.  Two studies have reported that

individuals with schizophrenia and manic-depressive illness, compared to

individuals who do not have these disorders, have had greater exposure to cats

in childhood.

5.  Some studies have reported

that individuals with first-onset schizophrenia have an increase in antibodies

to toxoplasmosis.

6.  There are case reports in the

literature of psychiatric and behavioral abnormalities in some individuals with

Toxoplasma infection

7.  Some of the medications used

for the treatment of schizophrenia have the ability to inhibit toxoplasma in

cell culture.

Relevant articles, abstracts and

presentations at scientific meetings are linked below.

PUBLICATIONS

Could Schizophrenia Be A Viral Zoonosis Transmitted

From House Cats?  E. Fuller Torrey and Robert H. Yolken, Schizophrenia

Bulletin, 1995

The

Antecedents of Psychoses: A Case-Control Study of Selected Risk Factors 

E. Fuller Torrey, R. Rawlings, R.H. Yolken, Schizophrenia Research, 2000.

Antibodies

to Toxoplasma Gondii in Individuals With First-Episode Schizophenia. 

RH Yolken, S. Bachmann, I Ruslanova, E Lillehoj, G Ford, EF Torrey, Clinical

Infectious Diseases, 2001

The

Control Study of Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders and Toxoplasma Infection.

L Qiuying, L Xiaonian, L Li, et al.  Acta Academiae Medicinae Hubei,

1999.  (TABLES ONLY AT THIS TIME)

PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

The

Epidemiology of Severe Psychiatric Disorders: Is It Time To Put The Cat Out? 

E. Fuller Torrey M.D., Stanley Foundation Research Program

Molecular

Systematics of Toxoplasma gondii and Related Coccidia: Expanding the

Range of Distinguishing Characters for Taxonomy, Systematics and

Diagnostics. 

John R. Barta, Department of Pathobiology, University of Guelph, Guelph,

Ontario, Canada

TOXOPLASMA

INFECTION AND BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES–ANIMAL MODEL.  Rick Holliman, St.

George’s Hospital and Medical School, London, UK

MOLECULAR

PATHOGENESIS OF TOXOPLASMOSIS.  Vernon B. Carruthers, Johns Hopkins

University School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

THE

INFLUENCE OF LATENT TOXOPLASMOSIS ON HUMAN PERSONALITY.   Jaroslav

Flegr, Department of Parasitology, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

TOXOPLASMA ANTIBODY TITERS IN TREATMENT NAIVE FIRST

EPISODES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA.  John Gilmore , University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC

ARTICLES IN GENERAL INTEREST PERIODICALS

Do Cats Cause

Schizophrenia?