An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of antibodies to toxins A and B of Clostridium difficile was developed. Serum samples from 340 patients were tested for determination of the age-related prevalence of antitoxin. Antibody to toxin A was present in 64% of patients more than two years old and antibody to toxin B in 66% of patients more than six months old. A strongly positive ELISA value correlated with the presence of cytotoxicity-neutralizing antibody (P less than 0.001). Strongly positive ELISA values were obtained more commonly in convalescent sera from 16 patients with C difficile-induced colitis than in sera from the control population (antibody to toxin A, P less than 0.05; antibody to toxin B, P less than 0.001). Testing of paired sera revealed significant increases in the titer of IgG antibody to toxin A or B. Ten of the 16 patients with colitis had IgM titers of greater than or equal to 1:160 to one or both toxins. The data presented suggest that antibodies to toxins A and B are present in the majority of older children and adults and that patients with C difficile-induced disease develop serologic responses to one or both toxins.

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Introduction: An association between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and schizophrenia has been shown by a meta-analysis showing a significant Odds Ratio (OR) of 2.7. Currently, several studies have looked at the association between T. gondii and other psychiatric disorders as well, rendering exploration of diagnostic specificity possible. Furthermore, questions remain on the timing and nature of the infection. Methods: A systematic search was performed to identify relevant studies of all major psychiatric disorders versus healthy controls in relation to T. gondii infection. Methodological quality, heterogeneity and risk of bias were assessed. Results: A total of 2866 studies were found, from which 51 studies were finally included. Significant ORs were found for Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, OCD and Addiction, but not for Major Depression. Further exploration of the association between T. gondii and schizophrenia, yielded a significant association of seropositivity before onset of psychosis and with high antibody titers. A decline of the association was found when baseline exposure in the healthy control population increased. Discussion: These findings suggest that T. gondii infection is not merely associated with psychosis and that in schizophrenia a reactivation of a latent T. gondii infection occurs. Several hypotheses remain open about the nature of this association.

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