isothermal amplification lamp – Toxoplasma gondii & Human Phenotype

Possible link between Toxoplasma gondii infection and mood disorders in Lorestan Province, Western Iran

October 6, 2016 14 Comments
Kheirandish, F., Nazari, H., Mahmoudvand, H., Yaseri, Y., Tarahi, M. J., Fallahi, S., Ezatpour, B.
Archives of Clinical Infectious Diseases 2016; 11.

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Background: A large number of epidemiological evidence in humans and experimental studies in rodents have hypothesized that Toxoplasma gondii is a potentially relevant etiological factor in some mood disorders. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether latent toxoplasmosis has any role in mood disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disease in Western Iran. Patients and Methods: A total of 170 patients including 85 schizophrenia and 85 bipolar patients referred to the only psychiatric hospital in Lorestan province in Khorramabd city, Western Iran, and 170 healthy volunteers were screened for IgG and IgM anti-T. gondii antibodies by the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Structured questionnaires were used to obtain information on risk factors for T. gondii infection. Results: Out of the 170 psychiatric patients, 103 (63.5%) patients were seropositive for IgG antibody and 14 (8.2%) were seropositive for IgM antibody. Of the 85 bipolar patients, 54 (63.5%) and 6 (7%) were found positive for anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies, respectively; whereas among 85 schizophrenia patients, 49 (57.6%) and 8 (9.4%) samples were found positive for anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies, respectively. From 170 healthy volunteers, 73 (42.9%) tested seropositive for anti-T. gondii antibodies; 65 (38.2%) tested seropositive for IgG antibody and 8 (4.7%) tested seropositive for IgM antibody. There was a significant difference in T. gondii IgG positivity between the psychiatric patients and control groups (P = 0.009). Several risk factors, which were significantly related to T. gondii seropositivity in psychiatric patients are being in contact with cats (P = 0.004), eating unwashed raw vegetables (P < 0.001), raw-milk/egg consumption (P = 0.001), and drinking clean water (P = 0.035). Conclusions: We concluded that psychiatric patients in general and schizophrenia and bipolar cases in particular had a significantly higher relative frequency of T. gondii infection than healthy individuals of Lorestan Province, Western Iran.

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

January 4, 2016
Rashno, M. M., Fallahi, S., Kheirandish, F., Bagheri, S., Kayedi, M. H., Birjandi, M.
Archives of Clinical Infectious Diseases 2016, 11: ARTN e37205 10.5812/archcid.37205

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Background: Toxoplasmosis is one of the most important diseases in humans and animals. Almost one-third of the human population around the world is infected with toxoplasmosis. The agent of this parasitic disease is a protozoan called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) that causes encephalitis in people with suppressed immune systems and abortion, mental retardation and chorioretinitis in the fetus. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most important neurodegenerative disease. Objectives: Due to the high prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Iran and evidence on its impact on neurodegenerative diseases, this study was performed to evaluate the T. gondii infection in patients with AD. Patients and Methods: In this case-control study, after selection of alzheimer's patients (APs) referred to Imam Reza psychiatric hospital of Khorramabad, west of Iran, and healthy controls (each group consisted of 87 individuals), using the convenience sampling method and under the supervision of a neurologist, blood samples were taken during July 2014 and January 2015. The collected samples were transferred to the research laboratory of parasitology under cold chain storage and then, the serum samples were separated by centrifugation and were frozen at -20 degrees C until use. The T. gondii IgM and IgG specific antibodies were assessed in serum samples using commercial Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kits. Results: The overall prevalence of T. gondii infection in patients with AD and the control group, using ELISA assay, was obtained as 66.6% (58/87) and 56.32% (49/87), respectively (P = 0.99). In this study, there was no significant association between T. gondii infection and AD. On the other hand, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of infection with T. gondii (P = 0.99). Conclusions: Higher prevalence of T. gondii in patients with AD compared to controls showed the possible impact of this parasite in AD, which may exacerbate symptoms, and this requires special attention of specialists and patient families.