Hejazi Seyed Hossein; Makvandi Sanaz; Abedi Said; Soleimanifard Simindokht
Abstract
Background: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease originated from species of the genus Leishmania from the Trypanosomatidae family, with three main clinical forms of cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral. Every year, many new cases of the disease are reported in endemic areas. Nowadays, in non-endemic ...
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Background: Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease originated from species of the genus Leishmania from the Trypanosomatidae family, with three main clinical forms of cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral. Every year, many new cases of the disease are reported in endemic areas. Nowadays, in non-endemic regions, the incidence of the disease has also created tension. Medicine side effects, reports of resistance against currently used drugs, and the absence of a putative vaccine have made researchers look for new effective drugs. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the ethanolic and aquatic extracts of the Ziziphora tenuior L. on the prolifration of Leishmania major amastigotes.
Methods: The J774 cell lines were infected by promastigotes, at stationary phase, and treated with different concentrations of both extracts. After 12, 24 and 48 hours (h) at 37°C, the macrophages were stained with Giemsa, and the mean number of amastigotes in the macrophages was determined and compared with the control group. Finally, the ED50 of the extracts was calculated through statistical analysis.
Results: Aquatic and ethanolic extracts of Ziziphora tenuior L. reduced the number of amastigotes within the macrophages. Following 48h of treatment, the ED50 of the aquatic and ethanolic extracts of the plant were 15.75 mg/ml and 15 mg/ml, respectively. Hence, there was no significant difference between the ED50 of the aquatic and ethanolic extracts of the plant P<0.05).
Conclusion: Aquatic and ethanolic extracts of Ziziphora tenuior L. have a considerable anti Leishmania effect, hence the significance of further studies using the animal model of CL.
Hejazi Seyed Hossein; Dabirzadeh Mansour; Sadeghi Hamid Mirmohammad; Nilfrooshzadeh Mohammad Ali; Baghaei Mehdi
Volume 10, Issue 4 , 2007, , Pages 290-100
Abstract
Background and aim: Isfahan is one of the most important endemic areas of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Iran. The objective of this study was to present different clinical pictures of ZCL and to identify the responsible Leishmania species using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Materials and ...
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Background and aim: Isfahan is one of the most important endemic areas of zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) in Iran. The objective of this study was to present different clinical pictures of ZCL and to identify the responsible Leishmania species using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Materials and methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study was performed from September 2006 to February 2007, in skin Disease and Leishmania Research Center, which is a referal center for leishmaniasis. Among 440 suspected patients, Leishmania promastigotes were isolated from 31 atypical and 60 classic CL lesions and identified using Permissively Primed Polymorphic-PCR method. Results: From a total of 600 observed patients, 440 were parasitologically proved using direct smear, 409 patients (92.9%) showed typical clinical picture of volcano-shape and 31 (7.1%) of patients showed atypical forms. PCR method identified all isolates as L.major. Conclusion: ZCL lesions may present with various clinical manifestations in the same endemic area, which limits the identification of responsible parasite based on clinical features. The reason for diversities in clinical pictures are not yet known.
Hejazi Seyed Hossein; Mokhtarian Kobra; Eslami Gilda; Salehi Rasoul; Mohammad Ali Nilforoushzade; Leila Shirani; Sedigheh Saberi
Volume 10, Issue 3 , 2007, , Pages 229-235
Abstract
Background and aim: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a health problem of many countries in tropical and subtropical regions including Iran. Isfahan province is one of the foci of CL with the highest prevalence in Iran. This study was done to identify the species of Leishmania isolated from the patients ...
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Background and aim: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a health problem of many countries in tropical and subtropical regions including Iran. Isfahan province is one of the foci of CL with the highest prevalence in Iran. This study was done to identify the species of Leishmania isolated from the patients in Ghohab Mohammad Abad, located in southwest of Isfahan which is a new foci of CL. Identification of the causative agent of CL is required to plan control measures and therapeutic strategies.Materials and methods: All residents of the village (18,477 individuals) were visited and interviewed to recruit patients with active lesion of CL. Direct samples and culture were taken from the suspected lesions for isolation and identification of Leishmania species. Identification was performed using kDNA minicircles in a PCR manner. Results: Forty three patients with suspected CL lesion were recruited and 25 parasitologically proven cases were identified. Eighteen isolates were used for identification and 7 isolates were excluded due to fungi contamination. All 18 isolates were characterized by PCR amplification to be Leishmania major.Conclusion: The etiologic agent of the CL in the region was identified to be L.major. Larger studies are needed to confirm that L. major is the rule etiologic agent of CL in this region.