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Pain-relieving Parasite

23 May 2025

Pain-relieving Parasite

This study in mice looks at how latent infection with the common parasite Toxoplasma gondii (picked up by humans from cat faeces) affects the gut and finds that an infection is associated with less gut pain than uninfected animals have. The researchers find that's because the parasite is stimulating natural pain-relieving opioids

Read the published research article here

Written by Lindsey Goff

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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