• Antipsychotic drugs with anti-toxoplasma activity in drug designing with mutual effects
  • Marjan Enshaeieh,1,* Geita Saadatnia,2
    1. Department of Biotechnology, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran
    2. ¬Department of Biotechnology, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Tehran, Iran


  • Introduction: Toxoplasma infection has positive relation with behavioral and psychiatric abnormalities which can be linked with antiprotozoal activity of some psychotic drugs. This association might specify a potential mechanism of mutual action of these drugs. What attracts attention is the potential of some antipsychotics and also some mood stabilizers on Toxoplasma infection inhibition. Some of these drugs are also known to have antiviral activities. No fully effective treatment against the tissue cysts of toxoplasma in infected people can be used, so there is essential need for treatment of chronic infection in the case of releasing tachyzoites as the result of tissue cysts reactivation.
  • Methods: The present drugs are effective against tachyzoites but not on the cyst form of the parasite. Regarding the possibility of multiple drug goals, the therapeutic effect of psychosocial drugs with interactions with toxoplasmosis is presented. Considering such interaction, it is possible to examine the theory of the effect of schizophrenia and epilepsy drugs on the control of toxoplasmosis. Application of such drugs provides a way to design drugs and new therapies for the prevention and treatment of diseases such as schizophrenia. Such treatments can be used as prevention for people at high risk of progression of neurological disorders and psychosis due to Toxoplasma gondii infection.
  • Results: In this review the relation of T.gondii chronic infection on human mental health and the effect of antipsychotic drugs and mood stabilizers on the chronic form of infection will be debated. Understanding of the whole mechanisms of parasite mainly in CNS and being aware of its possible tremendous effects on human health will help for better controlling of latent infection. Worldwide infection rate with Toxoplasma is about one-third and the possibility of certain diseases in the infected population is different than the other two-thirds ones; according to this, toxoplasmosis is really a very serious infection that need much more attentions. Due to the ability of this parasite to affect any kind of nucleated cells infection has a wide range of signs and symptoms. This fact should be considered in both searching for diagnoses of special disorders and also for the optimal method of their treatments. Unfortunately, no official recommendation is available for especially the chronic form of infection.
  • Conclusion: Mutual understanding of antipsychotic drugs mechanisms and the anti-Toxoplasma gondii activity will help for new drug designing and producing, especially based on biotechnological methods. It is not essential to wait for some dramatic changes in applied genomics because medicine can be personalized by applying standard methods and also by available knowledge. So, based on these studies biotechnological production of these drugs with such design of mutual effect on both toxoplasmosis and psychotic diseases may be achieved which may have significant results. It is possible in future to improve the efficiency of psychotic treatments by both choosing psychotropic drugs which has anti-toxoplasma activity and also by diagnosis of toxo-positive patients.
  • Keywords: Antipsychotic drugs, Bradyzoites, Toxoplasma gondii, Drug designing