Evolutionary puzzle of Toxoplasma gondii with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

The World Health Organization has reported an annual global suicide rate of 14.5 per 100,000 people. On the other hand, it is estimated that approximately one-third of the global population are infected with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasite. It is widely assumed that microbial pathogens, such as T. gondii, are probably associated with affective and behavioural modulation. The present article aimed to assess the proposed role of toxoplasmosis in raising the risk of suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) using the available epidemiological data. Seven major electronic databases and the Internet search engine Google were searched for all the studies published between the 1st of January 1950 and 31st of October 2019. The heterogeneity and the risk of bias within and across studies were assessed. Following data extraction, pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) across studies were calculated using the random-effects models. A total number of 9,696 articles were screened and 27 studies were regarded as eligible in our systematic review (SI with five papers and 22 papers on SA). A significant association was detected between antibodies against T. gondii with TA (ORs = 1.57; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.23-2.00, p = .000). Exploration of the association between T. gondii and SA yielded a positive effect of seropositivity for IgG antibodies but not IgM. Despite the limited number of studies, a statistical association was detected between suicidal behaviours and infection with latent T. gondii.

The potential risk of toxoplasmosis for traffic accidents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Toxoplasmosis is a prevalent infectious disease. Although most people infected by Toxoplasma gondii are asymptomatic, evidence has suggested that this disease might affect some aspects of a host's behavior and associate with schizophrenia, suicide attempt, changes in various aspects of personality, and poor neurocognitive performance. These associations may play roles in increasing the risk of a number of incidents, such as traffic accidents, among infected people. In this regard, this study aimed to provide summary estimates for the available data on the potential risk of toxoplasmosis for traffic accidents. To this end, using a number of search terms, i.e. toxoplasmosis, Toxoplasma gondii, traffic accident, road accident, car accident, crash, and prevalence, literature searches (up to October 1, 2017) were carried out via 6 databases. The meta-analysis was conducted using the StatsDirect statistical software and a P-value less than 0.05 was regarded as significant in all statistical analyses. Out of 1841 identified studies, 9 studies were finally considered eligible for carrying out this systematic review. Reviewing results of these studies indicated that 5 out of 9 studies reported a significant relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and traffic accidents. Additionally, data related to gender showed significant differences between infected and control men and women. Considering age, reviewing the results of these studies revealed a significant difference between the infected people and the Toxoplasma-negative subjects under 45 years of age. However, no significant difference was found between the two groups aged 45 or older. Given these results, it can be concluded that Toxoplasma gondii significantly increases the risk of having traffic accidents.

Trichostrongylus colubriformis: Possible Most Common Cause of Human Infection in Mazandaran Province, North of Iran.

BACKGROUND: Infection with Trichostrongylus spp. is common among human and herbivorous in most parts of Iran, especially in southern and northern areas. The aim of present study was to identify Trichostrongylus spp. among human population using excreted egg specimens, by the molecular method, in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. METHODS: Overall, 33 positive fecal specimens were randomly sampled and examined. PCR amplification of ITS2-rDNA region was performed on the isolated egg and then a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profile was considered to discriminate of Trichostrongylus spp. RESULTS: A total of 33 positive fecal specimens, 29(78.9%), 4(12.1%) were found T. colubriformis and T. axei respectively. Our data appear the molecular evidence of both human T. colubriformis and T. axei infections in North of Iran. CONCLUSION: T. colubriformis was the probable most common zoonotic species causing human trichostrongylosis infection in the area.

An improved microculture method for diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

This study evaluated the performance of three diagnostic methods for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Patients who came to the Health Center Laboratory of Gonbad-e-Qabus in Golestan Province, Iran, were enrolled in the study. Skin scraping smear, improved microculture (IMC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed. A total of 303 subjects were recruited, among whom 273 subjects fulfilled the criteria for CL. Sensitivity and specificity were 88.8 % (95 % CI = 84.2-92.2 %) and 100.0 % for smears, 98.4 % (95 % CI = 96.1-99.1 %) and 100.0 % for IMC, both of them 100.0 % for PCR. Although, PCR was relatively more sensitive than the IMC, the high correlation (agreement = 96 %, Kappa = 0.82) between IMC and PCR along with the advantages of simplicity, rapidity, adequate sensitivity and as a needle free method, offers the IMC as a valuable alternative diagnostic method for PCR in diagnosis of CL.