Seroprevalence of Toxocara infection among healthy individuals referred to the medical center laboratories in Tehran City, Capital of Iran

Background: Toxocarosis is a zoonotic disease with worldwide distribution. Humans' infection occurred by incidental ingestion of eggs shed in feces of dogs or cats. Studies on general population are rare in Iran. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated seroprevalence, and risk factors associated with toxocariasis among the healthy individuals in Tehran, capital if Iran

Materials and Methods: In total, 374 sera samples were investigated for the presence of anti-Toxocara IgG. We applied ELISA as screening test using available commercial kit. In addition, demographic data were obtained from participant's questionnaires. Data analysis was performed using SPSS16

Results: The overall seroprevalence of toxocariasis was found 5.6% [21/374]. Regarding the socio-demographic variables, age [P<0.001] and eating unwashed vegetables [P=0.049] were significantly associated to toxocariasis in univariate analysis. In the logistic regression analysis, only age [P<0.001] was identified as potential risk factor associated with Toxocara infection

Conclusion: This study revealed that seroprevalence of toxocariasis is relatively low in the healthy individuals in Tehran. We suggest carrying out further studies in the different part of Iran and investigate on the prevalence of toxocariasis in high-risk groups such as asthma, hyper-eosinophilic, epilepsy, rheumatism and schizophrenia patients

Receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B gene polymorphisms in Iranian periodontitis and peri-implantitis patients

PURPOSE: Peri-implantitis and periodontitis are inflammatory and infectious diseases of implant and tooth-supporting tissues. Recently, the role of gene polymorphisms of immune response components in the relevant pathogenesis has been investigated. The present study was the first to evaluate the relationship between two known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-beta (RANK) gene (rs3018362 and rs35211496) in chronic periodontitis and peri-implantitis patients in an Iranian population. METHODS: Eighty-one periodontally healthy patients, 38 patients with peri-implantitis, and 74 patients with chronic periodontitis were enrolled in this study. DNA was extracted from blood arm vein samples by using Miller's salting out technique according to the manufacturer's instructions given in the extraction kit. The concentration of DNA samples was measured using a spectrophotometer. The genetic polymorphisms of the RANK gene were evaluated using a competitive allele specific polymerase chain reaction (KBioscience allele specific PCR) technique. Differences in the frequencies of genotypes and alleles in the diseased and healthy groups were analyzed using chi-squared statistical tests (P<0.05). RESULTS: Analysis of rs35211496 revealed statistically significant differences in the expression of the TT, TC, and CC genotypes among the three groups (P=0.00). No statistically significant difference was detected in this respect between the control group and the chronic periodontitis group. The expression of the GG, GA, and AA genotypes and allele frequencies (rs3018362) showed no statistically significant difference among the three groups (P=0.21). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the CC genotype of the rs35211496 RANK gene polymorphism was significantly associated with peri-implantitis and may be considered a genetic determinant for peri-implantitis, but this needs to be confirmed by further studies in other populations.

Investigation of periodontal conditions in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Periodontal disease with alveolar bone resorption and tooth loss is common in rheumatoid arthritis [RA]. RA subjects show inadequate plaque control due to physical disability as well as compromised immune response, both of which might result in a greater predisposition to periodontal disease in these subjects than in the normal population. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of periodontal disease among rheumatoid arthritis patients. Periodontal status [plaque index, papillary bleeding index, and missing teeth] was examined in 70 individuals including 35 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis and 35 healthy individuals as control group. The results were analyzed using SPSS software and student /-test Patients with rheumatoid arthritis included 31 females [88.6%] and 4 males [11.4%] with a mean age of 45 years. Healthy control group included 26 females [74.3%] and 9 males [25.7%] with a mean age of 37 years. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis showed significant increases in Plaque index [P=0.0001], papillary bleeding index [P=0.002], and number of missing teeth [P=0.03] compared to the healthy control group. Three patients also had secondary Sjogren's syndrome. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis had a greater level of periodontal disorders compared to control group. In addition to the effects of this chronic inflammatory disease and immune host deficiened, this could be attributed to physical disability in maintaining oral health and gingival effects of and rheumatic medications