TY - JOUR ID - 91724 TI - Development of Rheumatoid Arthritis by Toxoplasmosis in Iranian Patients JO - Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences JA - JKMU LA - en SN - 1023-9510 AU - Masoori, Leila AU - Molazadeh, Morteza AU - Rezaei, Nahid AU - Alizadeh, Somaye AU - Hassanpour, Hamid AU - Badirzadeh, Alireza AD - Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran AD - Quality Management, Giti Tajhiz Teb, Tehran, Iran AD - Medical Education Development Center, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran AD - Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran AD - Department of Parasitology and Mycology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Y1 - 2021 PY - 2021 VL - 28 IS - 4 SP - 412 EP - 419 KW - Toxoplasma gondii KW - Autoimmunity KW - Rheumatoid Arthritis KW - Iran KW - Immune system DO - 10.22062/jkmu.2021.91724 N2 - Background: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an intracellular protozoan parasite capable of infecting approximately one-third of the world human population. In this study, the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) antibodies in Iranian patients with rheumatoid arthritis was investigated, given the lack of information on the magnitude of toxoplasmosis in these patients.Methods: The serum was collected from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 93) and a healthy control group (n = 93) from central parts of Iran to investigate the prevalence of anti-T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies.Results: Anti-T. gondii IgG was detected among 76 of 93 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (81.72%) versus 37 of 93 healthy control group (39.80%), and it was higher among patients with rheumatoid arthritis than controls. The seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii IgM was significantly higher in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (36 of 93; 38.70%) compared to the healthy control group (2 of 93; 2.1%). Demographic variables (age and sex) did not have significant correlations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were positive for T. gondii infection.Conclusion: The findings of the present study provide efficient evidence that confirm the association between toxoplasmosis and development of rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting that Toxoplasma may contribute to the rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis. UR - https://jkmu.kmu.ac.ir/article_91724.html L1 - https://jkmu.kmu.ac.ir/article_91724_e83681d953c7eee380dfb42095bac07d.pdf ER -