{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,13]],"date-time":"2026-08-13T19:35:55Z","timestamp":1786649755658,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,1]],"date-time":"2025-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754006400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Toxoplasma gondii is a common parasitic infection agent that, in its chronic phase, forms persistent tissue cysts in neuronal cells, potentially leading to neurological and behavioral alterations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aim:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate the role of chronic toxoplasmosis in human substance abuse and investigate its effect on dopamine levels, which is associated with substance abuse.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Materials and Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The study was designed with a substance abuse group comprising 90 patients with substance addiction and a control group consisting of 75 individuals without substance addiction. The substance abuse group consisted of patients who were addicted to alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, or amphetamines. Anti-\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Toxoplasma gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      IgG and dopamine levels in the blood sera and anti-\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels in the blood samples taken from the participants were analyzed via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      IgG was detected in 52 (57.8%) of 90 patients in the substance abuse group and 22 (29.3%) of 75 patients in the control group. There was a statistically significant relationship between\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      positivity and substance addiction (\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">P<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 0.001). However, no correlation was found between\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      positivity and the subgroups for the addiction type, criminal offense, imprisonment, or suicide attempt. Dopamine levels were statistically different between the groups. In the pairwise comparison of the groups, the dopamine levels in the\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii-<\/jats:italic>\n                      positive substance abuse group were lower than in the other three groups, and this was statistically significant.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In conclusion, the prevalence of\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      was higher in those with substance addiction than in those without. The fact that\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      alters dopamine levels was among the results. Since\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      can affect some behaviors of the host through changes in neurotransmitter levels, it was concluded that there is a significant relationship between\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">T. gondii<\/jats:italic>\n                      infection and substance abuse.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.4103\/njcp.njcp_669_24","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,30]],"date-time":"2025-08-30T11:00:26Z","timestamp":1756551626000},"page":"897-903","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Role of Chronic Toxoplasmosis in Substance Abuse in Humans and its Effect on Dopamine Levels"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"28","author":[{"given":"E","family":"G\u00fcrb\u00fcz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious 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