Your Cat Is Making You Crazy-Don't End Up French

mugwump · 02-14-2012, 10:09

I've had a soft spot for medical "kooks" with solid data ever since I was at a medical conference almost thrity years ago where Barry Marshall was hooted at for proposing that bacteria were the cause of stomach and duodenal ulcers. While a non-physician, I had a pretty good grounding in stats and his data looked good. He susequently won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2005.

The kook--Jaroslav Flegr--in the article below proposes that the protozoan parasite carried in cat feces called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii or Toxo) is potentially responsible for as many human deaths as malaria and that it causes subtle but measurable--and consistent--changes in the behavior of infected humans.

Leading parasitologists at Stanford, the Imperial College, etc. skeptically reproduced his studies and found that he just may be right.

Researchers around the world are finding correlations between Toxo infection and automobile accidents (toxo infection affects attention span and reaction rates), schizophrenia (the parasite appears to be able to rewire the brain's neurons and it also secretes dopamine--WTF?--and antipsychotic drugs seem to work by suppressing dopamine production...maybe reversing the infection's effects?), social isolation (infected males present as rumpled, suspicious, and anti-social), and...well read the article. It's longish but a good read.

Ten percent of Americans are infected and up to 50% of the French. You were wondering about the French angle.

It appears that human infection can be caused by eating bloody-rare and raw red meat (cows and pigs have high infection rates), which apprently the Frech do a lot of. Who knew.

The Atlantic -- How Your Cat Is Making You Crazy

Damn cats. Get a dog.

Streck-Fu · 02-14-2012, 11:09

Quote:

It appears that human infection can be caused by eating bloody-rare and raw red meat...

I'll take that risk....

Hopefully this means seared but rare meat is safe? 123-130F is rare so anything south of 120 is no-go for Cat Shit Crazy disease?

JJ_BPK · 02-14-2012, 11:23

This will ruin the Chinese Take-Out business...

BOfH · 02-14-2012, 12:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Streck-Fu

I'll take that risk....

Hopefully this means seared but rare meat is safe? 123-130F is rare so anything south of 120 is no-go for Cat Shit Crazy disease?

I knew it, the Mad Cows were in cahoots with the Mad Cats

akv · 02-14-2012, 16:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

This will ruin the Chinese Take-Out business...

Yup, there is a scary Chinese place a few blocks away. The food is fine, the scary thing is that they deliver it within like 5 minutes. Order at 5pm hang up, the doorbell rings at like 5:12, it's them with a smile on their face. Haven't seen a cat in the area for years...

mark46th · 02-14-2012, 16:21

Let's round up all the stray cats in the big cities and air drop them on Iran...

**The Reaper** · 02-14-2012, 18:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by akv

Yup, there is a scary Chinese place a few blocks away. The food is fine, the scary thing is that they deliver it within like 5 minutes. Order at 5pm hang up, the doorbell rings at like 5:12, it's them with a smile on their face. Haven't seen a cat in the area for years...

Sure beats the slackers delivering pizzas.

45 minutes, an hour goes by, then cold pizza and an attitude might arrive.

TR

JMART5 · 02-14-2012, 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by mugwump

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The kook--Jaroslav Flegr--in the article below proposes that the protozoan parasite carried in cat feces called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii or Toxo) is potentially responsible for as many human deaths as malaria and that it causes subtle but measurable--and consistent--changes in the behavior of infected humans.
Damn cats. Get a dog.

Cats suck...I was diagnosed with Toxoplasmosis. Docs couldn't figure it out. Tons of muscle pain and damage. I finally went to an ID doc thinking I might have picked something up in Latin America. She pegged it during our first discussion just by asking probing questions. Gave me the meds and two weeks later no more pain; although some muscle damage remains.

plato · 02-14-2012, 19:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark46th

Let's round up all the stray cats in the big cities and air drop them on Iran...

Great partial solution.

Let's round up all the stray cats and the big cities and air drop them on Iran.

akv · 02-14-2012, 20:09

IIRC there is a legend of the Mongol siege of the city of Volohai. Genghis Khan's forces lacking siege equipment where unable to take the fortified city by force. The Khan offered to lift the siege if 1,000 cats and 10,000 swallows were paid in tribute. Upon receiving payment the Mongols tied oily rags to the tails of the creatures and lit them on fire. The creatures dashed right back into their nests and homes, instantly setting the entire city ablaze. The Mongols then walked right in.