A team of researchers from Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Nagoya, Japan, identified the role of iron in ocular toxoplasmosis (OT), a form of toxoplasmosis that causes blindness.

According to the study, published in Redox Biology, the researchers found reduced iron concentration in the clear gel part of the eye and iron accumulation in the retina of mice.

Toxoplasma is a parasite that affects about a third of the world's population. OT is one of its major symptoms. About 25% of the patients with OT experience a loss of vision in at least 1 eye, often rising to the level of legal blindness. Part of this is the result of the PCR diagnostic test used to diagnose the disease is unreliable, with an accuracy of only 30%. This limitation reveals the urgent need for the development and implementation of more accessible diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

The solution to the problem could be found in controlling iron levels. The scientists discovered that patients with OT had a lower concentration of iron in the vitreous humor compared to patients with other eye diseases. Furthermore, when the researchers looked at sections drawn from the eyes of mice with toxoplasmosis, they discovered increased iron uptake into the retinas.

Moreover, additional research found that ferroptosis, a form of iron-associated cell death, in the affected areas of the retina.
Conclusions show the key role of iron, the control of which can initiate successful treatment and demonstrate the promise of preventive and therapeutic treatment.

These findings suggest a strong potential for iron measurement as a diagnostic tool, particularly when the disease has progressed to a stage with noticeable symptoms.

More about the study at the link: https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/study-the-role-of-iron-in-blindness-caused-by-ocular-toxoplasmosis