Are Viruses and Parasites Linked to Celiac Disease? A Question that Still has no Definite Answer.

Celiac Disease (CD) is a complex autoimmune enteropathy of the small intestine that commonly occurs in genetically predisposed individuals due to intake of gluten and related proteins. Gluten consumption, duration of breast-feeding, various infections, especially frequent intestinal infections, vaccinations and use of antibiotics can be linked to CD. It is predicted that it affects 1% of the global population and its incidence rate is increasing. Most of the people with the HLA-DQ2 or HLADQ8 are at a higher risk of developing this disease. The link between infections and autoimmune diseases has been very much considered in recent years. In several studies, we explained that pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms might have multiple roles in initiation, exacerbation, and development of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). In various studies, the relationship between infections caused by viruses, such as Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), Rotavirus, Hepatitis C (HCV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), and Influenza virus, and parasites including Giardia spp. and Toxoplasma gondii with CD has been raised. However, increasing evidence proposes that some of these microorganisms, especially helminths, can also have protective and even therapeutic roles in the CD process. Therefore, in order to determine the role of microorganisms in the process of this disease, we attempted to summarize the evidence suggesting the role of viral and parasitic agents in pathogenesis of CD.

The Protective Mechanism of Cannabidiol in Cardiac Injury: A Systematic Review of Non-Clinical Studies.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac disease is accounted as the leading cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. The disease is characterized by the overproduction of reactive oxygen and/or nitrogen species (ROS/RNS), and induction of oxidative stress. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive ingredient of marijuana that has been reported to be safe and well tolerated in patients. Due to its pleiotropic effect, CBD has been shown to exert cytoprotective effects. This study intended to clarify the mechanisms and the potential role of CBD regarding cardiac injuries treatment. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted, according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, in the electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase up to June 2019 using predefined search terms in the titles and abstracts. Accordingly, a set of pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria were considered and 8 articles were ultimately included in this study. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrate that CBD has multi-functional protective assets to improve cardiac injuries; preliminary through scavenging of free radicals, and reduction of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation. CONCLUSION: CBD can protect against cardiac injuries, mainly through its antioxidative and antiapoptotic effects on the basis of non-clinical studies. The cardioprotective effects of the CBD need to be further studied in welldesigned clinical trials.