Parasite 'turns women into sex kittens'

[jvkohl]

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117...-29277,00.html

The effect on mice mentioned in the

article is because something changes in the response to predator (e.g., cat) odor / pheromones.

This does not

mean that someone should develop a parasite-enhanced fragrance product, but these mass-media representations of

research findings lend themselves to just about any imaginable interpretation/use (as with the relatively recent

reports on oxytocin, and its subsequent debut in a "pheromone" product).

Perhaps it's time for more people

to learn about the science.

JVK

[bronzie]

i read about this, its an aussie

study, seems like the infected individuals had a hormone surge or imbalance because of this infestation, and the

invection was there for a very very long time... i have no clue how this could relate to pheromones

a

parasite infected fragrance? try sell that to the general public, i bet some idiots would actually buy it.

[jvkohl]

..., seems like the

infected individuals had a hormone surge or imbalance because of this infestation, and the invection was there for a

very very long time... i have no clue how this could relate to pheromones

I do! I'm not yet sure

which hormone surge or imbalance was reported, but am more than willing to bet that it influences the gonadotropin

hormone releasing hormone neuronal system, thus establishing a neuro-immune link to pheromone processing. We will

see how their research progresses.

JVK

[SyraBrian]

In the past, I somewhere recall

reading that the infestation rate in France is close to 80-90%. This may explain why Frenchmen are so rude and

Frenchwomen so hot!

[Archetypical Hybrid (HEC)]

Is this

phenomenon from an excretion they release, or from direct interaction with the CNS somehow?

From my engineering

perspective: If it is a secretion/excretion then do we know what component causes these effects and can it be

isolated and retrosynthetically analyzed?

JVK ??

[Archetypical Hybrid (HEC)]

Toxoplasma antibodies were detected in 56 of 79 patients with AIDS (71%), in the present study. Fourteen out

of 57 seropositive patients developed TF (25%) and had Toxoplasma gondii antigen detected in their

urine.

bet that it influences the gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone neuronal system, thus

establishing a neuro-immune link to pheromone processing.

Well then, if it is a neuro-immune

reaction then by all logic, isolation and synthetic reproduction of the gondii antigen could be a possible means to

reproduce beneficial effects of gondii without the detrimental effects of the protozoan

itself..

http://www.biocompare.com/itemdetails.asp

?itemid=481468.. hmmm....

For as far as realistic implementation into any practical application?

[jvkohl]

Well then, if it is a neuro-immune reaction then by all logic, isolation and synthetic reproduction of the

gondii antigen...

Please tell us more about synthetic reproduction of this isolated antigen. It might

help in determining the basis of a very complex neuro-immune reaction (see below).

...could be a possible means to reproduce beneficial effects of gondii without the detrimental effects

of the protozoan itself..

What beneficial effects?

According to recent research published in

the journal Experimental Parasitology, "Infection of the host by Toxoplasma gondii leads to an acute systemic

dissemination of tachyzoites, followed by a chronic phase, in which bradyzoites, enclosed in cysts, persist in the

brain, the heart, and other tissues."

As I indicated earlier:

Perhaps it's time for more

people to learn about the science.

JVK