A new perspective on essential tremor: the potential etiologic role of Toxoplasma gondii and Toxocara spp.

ABSTRACT

Our aim was to examine the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and Toxocara infection and patients with essential tremor (ET). This study comprised a total of 174 participants, consisting of 99 patients with ET and 75 healthy controls. The presence of anti-T. gondii IgG and anti-Toxocara IgG antibodies was investigated using ELISA. The relationship between the severity of the disease and the seropositivity of T. gondii and Toxocara were examined. The seropositivity rate for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies among patients and control groups were 43.4% and 12%, respectively (odds ratio [OR] 5.63; 95% CI 2.53-12.56). The patient group exhibited a higher seroprevalence of anti-Toxocara IgG antibodies (32.3%) compared with the control group (13.3%; OR 3.10; 95% CI 1.41-6.83; p = 0.004). This study suggests that T. gondii and Toxocara infections can contribute to the pathogenic mechanisms underlying ET and could be risk factors for ET.