title: 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.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  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)).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results demonstrate a negative association between an infection with the parasite T. gondii and the presence of MS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stascheit
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Clinical and Experimental Multiple Sclerosis Research Center, Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Harms
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Experimental Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: berit.rosche@charite.de.
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rosche
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan
keywords: Case–control studies; Hygiene hypothesis; Multiple sclerosis; Parasitic infections; Toxoplasma gondii