Rensch Paul, Postolache Teodor T, Dalkner Nina, Stross Tatjana, Constantine Niel, Dagdag Aline, Wadhawan Abhishek, Mohyuddin Farooq, Lowry Christopher A, Joseph Joshua, Birner Armin, Fellendorf Frederike T, Finner Alexander, Lenger Melanie, Maget Alexander, Painold Annamaria, Queissner Robert, Schmiedhofer Franziska, Smolle Stefan, Tmava-Berisha Adelina, Reininghaus Eva Z
Division of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Int J Bipolar Disord. 2024 Aug 23;12(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s40345-024-00353-8.
Alongside affective episodes, cognitive dysfunction is a core symptom of bipolar disorder. The intracellular parasite T. gondii has been positively associated with both, the diagnosis of bipolar disorder and poorer cognitive performance, across diagnostic boundaries. This study aims to investigate the association between T. gondii seropositivity, serointensity, and cognitive function in an euthymic sample of bipolar disorder.
A total of 76 participants with bipolar disorder in remission were tested for T. gondii-specific IgG and IgM antibodies and for cognitive performance using neuropsychological test battery. Cognitive parameters were categorized into three cognitive domains (attention and processing speed, verbal memory, and executive function). Statistical analysis of associations between continuous indicators of cognitive function as dependent variables in relationship to T. gondii, included multivariate analyses of co-variance for seropositivity, and partial correlations with IgG serointensity in IgG seropositives. All analyses were controlled for age and premorbid IQ.
In seropositives (n = 27), verbal memory showed significant inverse partial correlations with IgG antibody levels (short delay free recall (r=-0.539, p = 0.005), long delay free recall (r=-0.423, p = 0.035), and immediate recall sum trial 1-5 (r=-0.399, p = 0.048)). Cognitive function did not differ between IgG seropositive and seronegative individuals in any of the cognitive domains (F (3,70) = 0.327, p = 0.806, n = 76). IgM positives (n = 7) were too few to be analyzed.
This investigation is the first to show an association between T. gondii IgG serointensity and memory function in a well-diagnosed bipolar disorder sample. It adds to the existing literature on associations between latent T. gondii infection and cognition in bipolar disorder, while further research is needed to confirm and expand our findings, eliminate potential sources of bias, and establish cause-effect relationships.
除情感发作外，认知功能障碍是双相情感障碍的核心症状。细胞内寄生虫刚地弓形虫与双相情感障碍的诊断及跨诊断边界的较差认知表现均呈正相关。本研究旨在调查双相情感障碍缓解期样本中弓形虫血清阳性、血清强度与认知功能之间的关联。
对76名双相情感障碍缓解期患者进行了弓形虫特异性IgG和IgM抗体检测，并使用神经心理测试组合评估认知表现。认知参数分为三个认知领域（注意力和处理速度、言语记忆和执行功能）。以认知功能的连续指标为因变量，与弓形虫相关的关联进行统计分析，包括血清阳性的多变量协方差分析，以及IgG血清阳性者中IgG血清强度的偏相关分析。所有分析均对年龄和病前智商进行了控制。
在血清阳性者（n = 27）中，言语记忆与IgG抗体水平呈显著负偏相关（短延迟自由回忆（r = -0.539，p = 0.005）、长延迟自由回忆（r = -0.423，p = 0.035）以及即时回忆总和试验1 - 5（r = -0.399，p = 0.048））。在任何认知领域，IgG血清阳性和血清阴性个体的认知功能均无差异（F(3,70) = 0.327，p = 0.806，n = 76）。IgM阳性者（n = 7）数量过少，无法进行分析。
本研究首次表明，在诊断明确的双相情感障碍样本中，弓形虫IgG血清强度与记忆功能之间存在关联。这为现有关于潜伏性弓形虫感染与双相情感障碍认知之间关联的文献增添了内容，不过仍需进一步研究以证实和扩展我们的发现，消除潜在的偏倚来源，并建立因果关系。
