Reza Shafiei; Zahra Riazi; Mohamdreza Sarvghad; Mysam Galian Sharifdini; Abbas Mahmoodzadeh; Massoud Hajia
Volume 6, Issue 2 , April 2011, , Pages 68-72
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Toxoplasmosis has become one of the more frequent opportunistic infections and the most common cause of focal brain lesions complicating the course of AIDS. However, there is a little information about the frequency of the toxoplasmosis in various regions of Iran. At ...
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Background and Objectives: Toxoplasmosis has become one of the more frequent opportunistic infections and the most common cause of focal brain lesions complicating the course of AIDS. However, there is a little information about the frequency of the toxoplasmosis in various regions of Iran. At the present study, we evaluated the prevalence of toxoplasmosis in patients with AIDS in Mashhasd (Northeast Iran). Material and Methods: Overall, 258 suspected patients with CD4+ T-cell count and clinical manifestation for HIV infection were referred from Infectious Disease Center to Imam Reza Hospital in 2009. These patients were examined by ELISA, western blot method and tested by P24 antigen. HIV positive patients (n=121) were entered in this cross-sectional study and investigated for IgG and IgM anti- Toxoplasma antibodies with ELISA. Results: The mean age of the patients was 35.83 + 6.75 yr. 83.5% of the patients were intravenous drug misuse. The IgG anti-Toxoplasma antibodies were positive in 46 (38.01%) patients, while IgM antibody was detected in 3 cases (2.5%). Conclusion: The rate of toxoplasmosis infection in HIV positive patients is high. Therefore, immediate treatment of these patients is essential in rising specific antibody cases that may cause toxoplasmic encephalitis resulting from its reactivation.
Massoud Hajia; Abbas Mahmoodzadeh; Hassan Morovati
Volume 3, Issue 4 , September 2008, , Pages 197-202
Abstract
Background and Objective: Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) has been historically the most prevalent opportunisticinfection in patients infected with the human immunodeficiencyvirus. Culture of the organism has not been faced with suitable success in artificial media, while various results have been ...
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Background and Objective: Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) has been historically the most prevalent opportunisticinfection in patients infected with the human immunodeficiencyvirus. Culture of the organism has not been faced with suitable success in artificial media, while various results have been reported for cell culture media. The aim of this study was proliferation of Pneumocystis carinii on the Razi Bovine Kidney (RBK) cell line and to compare growth rate with ‘Vero’ and ‘MRC-5’ cell lines. Materials and Methods: We used 6 rats (Sprague-Dawley) provided from Razi Institute to infect with Pneumocystis carinii after suppressing the immune system with methylprednisolone acetate (40 mg/kg). Methylprednisolone acetate was used subcutaneously once a week for 8 weeks. Samples were homogenized after separation of the lung tissue. Microscopic examination was applied for prepared smears to confirm the presence of Pneumocystis carinii. Purified trophozoites were then inoculated into the cell line flasks. Growth rate was estimated by counting the trophozoite in each day. Results: Number of cultivated organisms was increased after 5 days incubation in all applied cell lines. Growth rate of Vero, MRC-5 and RBK were 3, 3, and 3.75 times more respectively in comparison with number of the calculated cells in first day. Hence the difference between RBK and two other cell lines was significant (p = 0.023). Conclusion: RBK cell line is suitable to proliferate Pneumocystis carinii.
