Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they have discovered clues as to why a malaria-related parasite, called toxoplasma gondii, can cause blindness in some people but not in others. This is according to a study published in PLOS Pathogens. It rather depends upon the different strains of parasite and on the immune response that they produce.
"It's often not the parasite that causes all the damage, but it's actually the host immune response that's causing most of the damage.
We think that maybe what's happening is these parasites come in and they trigger a hyperinflammatory host immune response that might cause damage to the eyes."
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