Parasitology. 2008 Jan 21;:1-5 [Epub ahead of print]
Sex-dependent toxoplasmosis-associated differences in testosterone concentration in humans
Flegr J, Lindová J, Kodym P.
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Sciences, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
SUMMARYSeveral lines of indirect evidence suggest that subjects with latent infection of the coccidian parasite Toxoplasma gondii have a higher concentration of testosterone than uninfected controls. Here, we searched for direct evidence of latent toxoplasmosis-associated differences in testosterone concentration among a population of 174 female and 91 male students screened for Toxoplasma infection. We have found Toxoplasma-infected men to have a higher concentration of testosterone and Toxoplasma-infected women to have a lower concentration of testosterone than Toxoplasma-free controls. The opposite direction of the testosterone shift in men compared to women can explain the observed gender specificity of behavioural shifts in Toxoplasma-infected subjects.
PMID: 18205984 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
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