The effects of opium consumption on severity of disease on hospitalized COVID-19 patients in East of Iran, a prospective cohort study.

There are few theories and little empirical evidence about the bilateral impact of substance use and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), so a logical and accurate picture of this area is required. We investigated the effects of opium use on severity of disease on hospitalized COVID-19 patients in east of Iran. Demographic and clinical characteristics, vital signs, laboratory tests, mortality rate, type and duration of opium consumption in hospitalized patients who recovered from COVID-19 in the follow-up after 3 months were evaluated.

A systematic review on efficiency of microneme proteins to induce protective immunity against Toxoplasma gondii.

Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite infecting almost all warm-blooded animals. Many studies on vaccination have been performed previously, and micronemal proteins (MICs) have crucial importance in this regard. The current review aims to reveal the efficiency of MICs as target antigen, adjuvants, animal models (species/strain), T.

Survey on synergism effect of ketotifen in combination with pyrimethamine in treatment of acute murine toxoplasmosis.

Background: Standard treatment of toxoplasmosis is accompanied by severe side effects and low tolerability; accordingly, alternative medicines are critically needed. Ketotifen (KET) as a cell membrane stabilizer could be an appropriate inhibitor of () parasite entrance into the host cells. Therefore, the focus of current study is characterization of the anti- activity of KET in the acute phase of toxoplasmosis in murine model as pre-treatment and post-treatment (before and after infection with RH strain).

The potential use of melatonin to treat protozoan parasitic infections: A review.

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a circadian hormone produced in vertebrates by the pineal gland and other organs. Melatonin is believed to influence immune cells leading to modulation of the proliferative response of stimulated lymphocytes as well as cytokine production. Due to the antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects of melatonin, it is suggested that this molecule could be a therapeutic alternative agent to fight bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections by a variety of mechanisms.