Search

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, a cosmopolitan intracellular parasite. It can be a risk factor for autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was designed to investigate the possible association between serological history of T. gondii infection and defined clinical manifestation of RA in Northeast of Iran. Methods: Overall, serum samples were collected from 50 RA patients and 40 healthy controls, from Qaem Hospital in Mashhad City, northeastern Iran in 2018. Seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was determined by ELISA. Results: The prevalence of anti -T. gondii IgG in RA patients 48% (24.50) was significantly higher than the control group 10% (4.40) (P <0.001). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) and (rheumatoid factor) RF levels between the RA and control groups (P <0.01). Control group were matched with patients for age, gender and living area. Conclusion: Given that a high correlation has been demonstrated between positivity rate of anti-T. gondii IgG and RA in Northeastern Iran, further studies will be necessary to clarify the pathogenesis of T. gondii among these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human toxocariasis is a neglected parasitic disease in most countries including Iran. Among different clinical forms of toxocariasis, ocular toxocariasis (OT) is an important disease resulting in severe vision loss. However, the prevalence and incidence of OT are currently unclear in Iran. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ocular toxocariasis among patients with uveitis in the Northeast of Iran. Methods: From 2015 to 2017, 510 patients with uveitis referred to Khatam-al-Anbia, a tertiary eye hospital at Mashhad, Iran were examined for OT. Serum samples of the suspected patients were obtained and evaluated for IgG against Toxocara canis using ELISA test. Anti-Toxocara IgG positive serums were further investigated using confirmatory Western blotting (WB) analysis. Results: Twenty patients had pathologic changes and clinical presentations in the anterior and posterior segments of their eyes and they were clinically diagnosed ocular toxocariasis. Among the 20 patients, 2 (10%) patients showed IgG antibody against Toxocara canis on ELISA as well as on WB test. The calculated prevalence of ocular toxocariasis was about 0.4%. Conclusion: Ocular toxocariasis can be diagnosed both clinically and serologically in Mashhad, northeastern Iran. Although OT is a rare pathologic eye disease, it should be considered as one of the important cause of infectious posterior uveitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Due to adverse effects of pentavalent antimonial treatment of visceral leishmaniasis using herbal medicines has received a lot of attention. In this study, we evaluated inhibitory activity of Pelargonium roseum essential oil on growth of Leishmania infantum promastigotes, and compared it with that of Glucantime. Methods: Inhibitory effects of different concentrations (1, 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 μL/ml) of P. roseum essential oil on the growth of L. infantum promastigotes were studied by MTT assay after 24 and 48 hours. All the data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance. The effect of the essential oil was later compared with that of standard dose of Glucantime. Results: After 24 hours, different concentrations of the essential oil had no significant inhibitory effect on promastigotes of L. infantum. After 48 hours, all concentrations except for 1μL/ml showed significant anti-leishmanial activity. In addition, the lowest concentration that had significant inhibitory effect on L. infantum promastigote was 5 μL/ml. Conclusion: The essential oil of P. roseum has favorable inhibitory activity on the growth of L. infantum promastigotes after 48 hours. This indicates the therapeutic potential of this plant for treatment of leishmaniasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) serosurvey was carried out on 49 HIV/AIDS patients among 500 asymptomatic HIV/infected patients who registered in the Khorasan Razavi Province during the last 14 years. HIV infections were detected by ELISA and confirmed using western blot assay at the AIDS centre of the Khorasan Razavi Province. All collected sera were screened using the direct agglutination test (DAT). The sera with anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies at a titre of 1:100 were considered positive for VL infection and serum titration was performed from 1:100 to 1:102,400. Nine (18.4%) patients were sero-positive according to DAT. The distribution of sera titrations were as follows: 1:100 (n = 6) 1:1600 (n = 1); 1:25,600 (n = 1) and 1:102,400 (n = 1). All sero-positive cases showed clinical signs and symptoms. The most predominant signs and symptoms of co-infection of visceral leishmaniasis in HIV-positive patients were pneumonia (n = 2), hepatosplenomegaly (n = 2), lymphadenopathy (n = 2), anaemia (n = 1), prolonged fever (n = 1) and cachexia (n = 1). Our finding shows that VL (or kala-azar) is an opportunistic disease in HIV-positive patients that may be occurred in VL endemic areas of Iran., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)