Pathological horading, (i.e., 'syllogamania', sometimes also called the 'Diogenes Syndrome'), is characterized by domestic squalor, loss of insight, and social withdrawal (Clark, Manikur amp Gray, 1975 Cooney amp Hamid, 1995). Subjects will be evaluated for novelty seeking behavior, surveyed for lifetime exposure to cats/laboratory rats, and have serum Toxoplasmosis gondii antibodies drawn as an indication of prior exposure to the parasite.CLINICAL Public Health Relevance Individual office spaces will be blindly rated for level of hoarding. Nevertheless, the office setting provides a personal space in which there is little policing of incipient hoarding behavior. Healthcare professionals are not likely to have significant mental or physical comorbidities. gondii infection in humans can be associated with personality changes (Flegr & Hrdy, 1994 Flegr et al., 1996 Flegr & Havlicek, 1999 Flegr et al., 2000 Novotna et al., 2005), including decreased novelty seeking (Flegr et al., 2003 Novotna et al., 2005).RESEARCH PLAN: We propose to test the association between toxoplasmosis gondii exposure and a specific behavioral phenotype, 'hoarding behavior' and low 'novelty seeking.' Because cats and rodents are common host for toxoplasmosis gondii we plan to make the association of lifetime exposure to cats and rats to Toxoplasmosis gondii infection.METHODS: We will examine the relationship between infection to Toxoplasmosis gondii, hoarding behavior, novelty seeking behavior, and lifetime exposure to household cats or laboratory rats, 80 healthcare professionals who do not have baseline Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Interestingly, dopamine activity can also be associated with personality traits in humans, particularly 'novelty seeking' (Cloninger, 1998 Hansenne et al., 2002). Increases in CNS dopamine are associated with psychosis in humans, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) like ritualistic behavior in rodents (Eilam & Szechtman, 2005).
gondii exhibit selective increases in CNS dopamine concentrations (Stibbs, 1985). Toxoplasma gondii is an important cause of encephalopathy and death in immunocompromised persons. The institution listed isfor the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator.BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan microbial parasite that infects a wide range of wild and domestic animals and can be transmitted to human beings. The subproject andinvestigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source,and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries.
Lack of standardized instruments to measure squalor have prevented researchers from understanding squalor in compulsive hoarding”.This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing theresources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Many subjects could not use their refrigerator (45%), kitchen sink (42%), bathtub (42%), or toilet (10%). For 32% of the residences, there was an overpowering odor from rotten food or animal or human feces. In their sample, 17% of individuals were described as ‘extremely filthy’ and 33% of residences were rated as ‘extremely filthy and dirty’. focused on cleanliness ratings of the personal appearance and the homes of 62 elderly hoarding individuals. surveyed health department officers in Massachusetts who reported that 38% of their hoarding cases were ‘heavily cluttered with filthy environment, overwhelming’. A few studies have provided more direct indications of squalor in hoarding. (1999) noted that clutter inhibited normal activities of daily living – including personal hygiene. “Research on hoarding has rarely included assessments of severe domestic squalor. There are suggestions that an orbitofrontal brain lesion may lead to such behaviours…while others state that chronic mania symptoms, such as poor insight, can lead to such a condition”. Affected individuals come from any socioeconomic status, but are usually of average or above-average intelligence…It is often associated with other mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, mania, and frontotemporal dementia…While no clear etiology exists, it is hypothesized that it may be due to a stress reaction in people with certain pre-morbid personality traits, such as being aloof, or certain personality disorders, such as schizotypal or obsessive compulsive personality disorder. He used to follow some ideas like ‘life according to nature’, ‘self-sufficiency’, ‘freedom from emotion’, ‘lack of shame’, ‘outspokenness’, and ‘contempt for social organization’…The approximate annual incidence of Diogenes is 0.05% in people over the age of 60. He kept his need for clothing and food to a minimum by begging. “DS is named after the Greek Philosopher “Diogenes of Sinope” (4th century BC) who taught about cynicism philosophy.
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