Intestinal parasites are a problem for public health all over the world. The infection with Blastocystis, a protozoan of controversial pathogenicity, is one of the most common among them all. In this study, the occurrence of intestinal parasites, with emphasis on Blastocystis, in patients at the Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro was investigated in Uberaba (MG) through microscopy of dir...

Domestic dogs and cats are commonly infected with a variety of protozoan enteric parasites, including Blastocystis spp. In addition, there is growing interest in Blastocystis as a potential enteric pathogen, and the possible role of domestic and in-contact animals as reservoirs for human infection. Domestic animals in shelter environments are commonly recognized to be at higher risk for carriag...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious neuropsychiatric sequela emerging in the advanced stages of cirrhosis. The gut microbiota plays an important role in the development of HE. The aim of the study was to analyze the dynamic interplay between microbiota and Blastocystis in cirrhotic patients with or without encephalopathy. METHODS The study was designed as cross-sectio...

We determined cytokines (e.g. interleukin-8, 10, 12 and TNF-α) expression by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in rectal mucosa in diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS) with Blastocystis spp. Eighty patients with D-IBS and Blastocystis spp. infection were classified as 'cases' and 80 with D-IBS without Blastocystis spp. infection were classified as 'control'. Cases...

BACKGROUND Blastocystosis is a frequent bowel disease. We planned to to evaluate the prevalence of Blastocystis spp. in patients who applied to the same internal medicine-gastroenterology clinic with or without gastrointestinal complaints to reveal the association of this parasite with diagnosed IBS and IBD. METHODS A total of 2334 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms composed the study gr...

background: blastocystis  is a zoonotic protozoan parasite habit in intestinal tract of humans and wide range of animals. because of the mysterious nature and unknown or less-known aspects of blastocystis, comprehensive information about epidemiology of this parasite is not available. the objective of this study was to investigate the available parasitology studies during the last decade in ira...

BACKGROUND Blastocystis species are common human enteric parasites. Carriage has been linked to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Treatment of Blastocystis spp. with antimicrobials is problematic and insensitive diagnostic methods and re-infection complicate assessment of eradication. We investigated whether triple antibiotic therapy comprising diloxanide furoate, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole an...

Blastocystis spp. are widely prevalent extra cellular, non-motile anerobic protists that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Although Blastocystis spp. have been associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, irritable bowel syndrome and urticaria, their clinical significance has remained controversial. We established an ex vivo mouse explant model to characterize adhesion in the context of tissue ...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) represent a spectrum of impaired immunity with effects on cellular immunity, soluble immune factors, and inflammation. As a result, infections due to impaired immune system responses are responsible for significant morbidity in patients with kidney disease. Because of immune dysfunction in CKD, these patients have reduced probabili...

Blastocystis spp. is a common enteric stramenopile parasite that colonizes the colon of hosts of a diverse array of species, including humans. It has been shown to compromise intestinal epithelial cell barrier integrity and mediate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Mucosal epithelial surfaces, including the intestinal epithelium, are increasingly recognized to perform...