4 ms·
There are antibody tests to show if you've ever had it, and approximately how intense/active the infection is. Mild latent and recent past infection is hard to
by retrac 2y ago
There are antibody tests to show if you've ever had it, and approximately how intense/active the infection is. Mild latent and recent past infection is hard to distinguish apart from an antibody test alone. Decreasing antibody concentration over time = fighting it off successfully, or past infection fading away (probably). Antibody tests like that aren't terribly expensive. (Well under $100 here in Canada if uninsured.)
Direct testing for the parasite's DNA in the cerebral-spinal fluid (yeah, a spinal tap sorry) is sensitive, too. Attempting to detect it elsewhere (blood, etc.) works but isn't as reliable. This is more expensive but sometimes used when unsure. Otherwise, in combination with that, it's diagnosed symptomatically. It shows up on a brain scan if the lesions get big enough, not to be alarmist.
- BitwiseFool 2y agoNo need to test, just give me treatment.
- Tijdreiziger 2y agoWhat are the symptoms?
- chasil 2y agoSymptoms of toxoplasmosis are only present in the immuno-compromised. The behavioral changes are a different story. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxoplasmosis
- Tijdreiziger 2y agoI’ve always found the term ‘immunocompromised’ to be somewhat vague. I use immunosuppressive medication to manage a chronic condition, so I assume my immune function is worse than someone not using such, but better than e.g. someone undergoing chemotherapy. Does this make me immunocompromised or not? Or, where does it place me on the scale? What precautions should I take?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- jimmygrapes 2y agoYou're also immunocompromised if you slept poorly or are dehydrated or malnourished (as many are, even if they don't know it). I agree that it's a poor blanket term.
- chasil 2y agoThe question is how your medication interacts with "somatic hypermutation" which enables your dendritic cells to launch the cascade via t-cells which triggers antibody production by your b-cells. It would be useful to understand how your medication interacts with this process. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lXfEK8G8CUI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lXfEK8G8CUI Somatic hypermutation has a small discussion in the Kerzegast book. I understand that somatic hypermutation, by the removal of uracil, plays two roles, first in initial recognition of a pathogen, then second in tuning the response for variants. As I understand it, this only happens in germinal centers, the lymph nodes. https://www.scribd.com/document/664375598/IMMUNE-by-Philipp-Dettmer-PR https://www.scribd.com/document/664375598/IMMUNE-by-Philipp-... This is a question for an infectious disease specialist.
- chasil 2y agohttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_hypermutation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatic_hypermutation
- retrac 2y agoIf it is not controlled by the immune system, it causes general neurological disorder, potentially severe (Parkinson-like, dementia, brain damage), and can start to invade other organs. This is uncommon except in people with serious immune dysfunction. When an infection is latent, it's normally described as asymptomatic. But there is some reason to think, it might subtly affect humans neurologically in a similar way to how it seems to affect other mammals, like the wolves in this article. But this is controversial.
- quantified 2y agoAlso, like many other things, possibly linked to depression.