Search

Introduction: Cysticercus fasciolaris is the larval stage of the cestode Taenia taeniaeformis, whose definitive hosts are cats. Rodents and very rarely humans act as intermediate hosts. Here, we investigated the rate of infection among urban rats in the north of Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran, and described the histopathological changes in the liver of infected animals. Methods: One hundred eight rats were collected from the cities Dezful, Sush, and Andimeshk in the north of Khuzestan province during 2014-2015. The rats were sacrificed, dissected, and their livers were removed and examined macroscopically for the presence of the cyst, which were then cut open and inspected for larvae. The cysts of infected livers were examined for the histopathological changes and the recovered larvae were identified based on morphometric features. Results: Out of 108 rats examined, 8 (7.4%) had small to moderate size cysts. Each cyst had two layers and contained one larva of C. fasciolaris. The scolex of the larvae had four suckers and a rostellum armed with two rows of hooks. The infected livers had multiple cysts and liver parenchyma necrosis or neoplastic evidence were not seen in the tissue sections. Conclusion: The small size cysts indicated actue infection, which may explain the absence of sarcoma as well.

Sanaz Jafarpour Azami,1,* Aref Teimouri,1,2,* Hossein Keshavarz,1 Amir Amani,3,4 Fariba Esmaeili,3 Hamid Hasanpour,1,5 Samira Elikaee,1 Hamid Salehiniya,6 Saeedeh Shojaee1 1Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Students Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 3Department of Medical Nanotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4Natural Products and Medicinal Plants Research Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran; 5Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran; 6Department of Public Health, School of Health, Zabol University of Medical Sciences, Zabol, Iran *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: The aim of this study was to prepare curcumin nanoemulsion (CR-NE) to solve the problems associated with poor water solubility and low bioavailability of CR and to test its efficiency in the treatment of acute and chronic toxoplasmosis in mouse models. Materials and methods: CR-NE 1% was prepared using spontaneous emulsification by soybean as oil phase; a mixture of Tween 80 and Tween 85 as surfactant; ethanol as cosurfactant and distilled water. Particle size and zeta potential of NE were assessed using Nano-ZS90 dynamic light scattering. Stability testing of NE was assessed after storage for 2 months at room temperature. In vivo experiments were carried out using 50 BALB/c mice inoculated with virulent RH strain (type I) and 50 BALB/c mice inoculated with avirulent Tehran strain (type II) of Toxoplasma gondii and treated with CR-NE (1% w/v), CR suspension (CR-S, 1% w/v), and NE without CR (NE-no CR). Results: The mean particle size and zeta potential of CR-NE included 215.66±16.8 nm and-29.46±2.65 mV, respectively, and were stable in particle size after a three freeze–thaw cycle. In acute phase experiment, the survival time of mice infected with RH strain of T. gondii and treated with CR-NE extended from 8 to 10 days postinoculation. The differences were statistically significant between the survival time of mice in CR-NE-treated group compared with negative control group (P

Objective/background Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major public health problem worldwide. This is especially true in Northern Iran, which has high TB prevalence. The chronic nature of this disease is further exacerbated if it is accompanied by fungal infection, which usually remains undiagnosed and thus untreated. Thus, mycotic infections add fatal dimensions to pulmonary TB. Our objective was to determine the prevalence of invasive forms of fungal elements in sputum samples collected from patients with pulmonary TB at a reference laboratory in Ghaemshahr, Northern Iran, during the past 10 years. Methods In this retrospective study, sputum samples collected from 430 patients were examined. Pulmonary TB in patients was confirmed in our laboratory, and samples obtained during the period from March 2006 to February 2016 were analyzed. The sputum samples were subjected to biological (bacterial) staining (Ziehl–Neelsen and fluorochrome) and mycological investigation using KOH+ Calcofluor White (Sigma-Aldrich, India) by fluorescent microscopy and fungal culture on Sabouraud dextrose agar (Sigma-Aldrich, India) and CHROMagar (Paris, France). Results Invasive forms of fungal pathogens were observed as co-infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 28/430 cases (6.51%). The frequency of Aspergillus, both branching and dichotomous infection, accounted for 3.72% (16/430): Aspergillus flavus, 1.63%; Aspergillus fumigatus, 1.16%; Aspergillus niger, 0.69%; and Aspergillus oryzae, 0.23%, respectively. Blastoconidia and pseudohyphae forms of yeast were observed as co-infection with M. tuberculosis in 2.79% (12/430) of the cases: Candida albicans, 1.86%; Candida krusei, 0.46%; and other Candida species, 0.46%, respectively. Conclusion Northern Iran is a critical region in the TB world and multidrug-resistant TB is a serious problem in this region. Although it is believed that there exists a commensal relationship between fungus and TB infections, the invasive forms of fungal pathogens and their co-infection can be caused by increasing disability and failure of treatment. Diagnosis of secondary or co-existing fungal infections in TB is most important for reducing the mortality and morbidity of these patients.

Background: Identification of liver flukes, Fasciola hepatica, and Fasciola gigantica by morphometric parameters is not always reliable due to the overlapping measurements. This study aimed to characterize the liver flukes of animals from different parts of Iran by the genetic markers, ITS1, and COXI. Methods: We collected flukes from infected livestock in six provinces of Iran from Sep to Nov 2016. The flukes were identified by amplification of a 680 bp sequence of ITS1 locus followed by a restriction fragment polymorphism (RFLP) assay. The genetic diversity among isolates was evaluated by amplification and sequencing of a 493 bp fragment of the COXI gene. Results: We obtained 38 specimens from Khuzestan, 22 from Tehran, 10 from Isfahan, 10 from Mazandaran, 4 from Kurdistan, and 3 from Ardabil provinces. PCR-RFLP analysis revealed two patterns, representing F. hepatica, and F. gigantica. Fifty specimens from cattle and sheep exhibited F. hepatica pattern and 37 from the cattle, sheep, buffalo, and goat that of F. gigantica. The phylogeny based on COXI revealed two distinct clades separating F. hepatica from F. gigantica. In our phylogeny, the Iranian F. gigantica isolates showed a distinct separation from the African flukes, while grouped with the East Asia specimens demonstrating a common ancestor. The F. hepatica isolates clustered with the flukes from different parts of the world, including East Asia, Europe, and South America. Conclusion: The present study revealed a substantial genetic difference between F. gigantica populations of Asia and Africa, while F. hepatica isolates from different parts of the world shared high similarities.