Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 6 2 2011 06 15 31 37 A Alipour Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran S Shojaee Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran M Mohebali Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran M Tehranidoost Dept. of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran F Abdi Masoleh Dept. of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran H Keshavarz Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2015 10 03 Background: Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic, and often debilitating neuropsychiatric disor­der. Its causes are still poorly understood. Besides genetic and non-genetic (environmental) fac­tors are thought to be important as the cause of the structural and functional deficits that character­ize schizophrenia. This study aimed to compare Toxoplasma gondii infection between schizo­phrenia patients and non-schizophrenia individuals as control group. Methods: A case-control study was designed in Tehran, Iran during 2009-2010. Sixty-two pa­tients with schizophrenia and 62 non-schizophrenia volunteers were selected. To ascertain a possible relationship between T. gondii infection and schizophrenia, anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were detected by indirect-ELISA. Data were statistically analyzed by chi- square at a confidence level of 99%. Results: The sero-positivity rate among patients with schizophrenia (67.7%) was significantly higher than control group (37.1) (P <0. 01). Conclusion: A significant correlation between Toxoplasma infection and schizophrenia might be ex­pected. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/176 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/176/175