Own a cat? You might get schizophrenia

Washington: Owning a cat might be your pastime. But growing up with a cat is linked with developing schizophrenia, new research shows. The parasite toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), which can be passed from cats to humans, could play a role in the development of schizophrenia, said researchers.

“T. gondii gets into the brain and forms microscopic cysts,” Edwin Torrey of the Stanley Medical Research Institute was quoted as telling the Huffington Post. “We think it then becomes activated in late adolescence and causes disease, probably by affecting the neurotransmitters,” Torrey noted.

“Cat ownership in childhood has now been reported in three studies to be significantly more common in families in which the child is later diagnosed with schizophrenia or another serious mental illness,” the researchers wrote. If a person is generally healthy, their immune system should keep the parasite in check. T. gondii may also cause miscarriages, foetal development disorders, blindness and even death.