Search results for "blastocystis"
showing 10 items of 21 documents
Presence of Blastocystis in gut microbiota is associated with cognitive traits and decreased executive function.
2022
Growing evidence implicates the gut microbiome in cognition. Blastocystis is a common gut single-cell eukaryote parasite frequently detected in humans but its potential involvement in human pathophysiology has been poorly characterized. Here we describe how the presence of Blastocystis in the gut microbiome was associated with deficits in executive function and altered gut bacterial composition in a discovery (n = 114) and replication cohorts (n = 942). We also found that Blastocystis was linked to bacterial functions related to aromatic amino acids metabolism and folate-mediated pyrimidine and one-carbon metabolism. Blastocystis-associated shifts in bacterial functionality translated into …
Intestinal symptoms and Blastocystis load in schoolchildren of Paranaguá Bay, Paraná, Brazil
2017
ABSTRACT The symptomatology of Blastocystis cannot be attributed to any particular subtype, although can be related to a high Blastocystis infection load. One stool sample from each of 217 schoolchildren of Vale de Sol Paranaguá Bay (Paraná, Brazil) was collected. Three milliliters of each fixed stool sample were processed applying the formalin-ether concentration technique. After obtaining the overall prevalence of intestinal parasites, quantification was carried out in Blastocystis positive samples. A total of 75/217 (34.6%) children suffered from intestinal symptoms (abdominal pain and/or persistent diarrhea), of whom 41.3% (31/75) presented moderate/heavy Blastocystis load with a statis…
Enteroparasites in Preschool Children on the Pacific Region of Nicaragua
2018
The aim of this study was to determine for the first time the prevalence of enteroparasites in preschool children originating from the seven departments of the Pacific region in Nicaragua. One stool sample of each of 1,217 children, from 6 months to 5 years of age, was collected and personal data were recorded on delivery of the container. Samples fixed in 10% formalin were processed by a formol-acetate concentration and a modified Ziehl–Neelsen technique. The overall prevalence of enteroparasite infections was 68.2% with a total of at least 20 species. Blastocystis hominis (45.5%), Giardia intestinalis (31.7%), Trichuris trichiura (8.2%), and Ascaris lumbricoides (5.2%) were the most preva…
High prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in pigs reared under intensive growing systems: Frequency of ribotypes and associated risk factors
2007
Three hundred and ninety-five pig fecal samples were analyzed looking for Blastocystis sp. using optical microscopy and PCR. A global prevalence of 46.8% has been observed in this study, although relative values of prevalence differ notably according to the strata examined, ranging from 9.3% in sows to 75% in weaners. Statistic analysis of the data included several risk factors such as different management systems, date of sample collection, fecal consistency, age and sex of the animals. The presence of the parasite was statistically associated to the variables "age" and "date of sample collection", being more prevalent in weaners and grower pigs and warm season. Random fragment-length poly…
One Health Approach to Zoonotic Parasites: Molecular Detection of Intestinal Protozoans in an Urban Population of Norway Rats, Rattus norvegicus, in …
2021
Rattus norvegicus, the brown or Norway rat, is the most abundant mammal after humans in urban areas, where they live in close proximity to people. Among rodent-borne diseases, the reservoir role of Norway rats of zoonotic parasites in cities has practically been ignored. Considering the parasitic diseases in the One Health approach, we intended to identify and quantify the zoonotic intestinal protozoans (ZIP) in an urban population of R. norvegicus in the city of Barcelona, Spain. We studied the presence of ZIP in 100 rats trapped in parks (n = 15) as well as in the city’s sewage system (n = 85) in the winter of 2016/17. The protozoans were molecularly identified by means of a multiplex PCR…
Interplay between Intestinal Bacterial Communities and Unicellular Parasites in a Morbidly Obese Population: A Neglected Trinomial
2022
Obesity is an epidemic causing a metabolic health crisis. Herein, the interactions between the gut prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities, metabolic comorbidities and diet were studied. Stool samples from 56 subjects, 47 with type III obesity and 9 with type II obesity and cardiovascular risk or metabolic disease, were assessed for the richness, diversity and ecology of the bacterial gut community through metagenomics, together with the study of the presence of common unicellular eukaryote parasites (Blastocystis sp., Dientamoeba fragilis and Giardia intestinalis) by qPCR. Clinical information regarding metabolic comorbidities and non-alcoholic hepatic fatty liver disease was gathered. To a…
Do Intestinal Unicellular Parasites Have a Role in the Inflammatory and Redox Status among the Severely Obese?
2022
The diagnosis of obesity comprises subjects with totally different phenotypes and metabolic profiles. Systemic inflammation and oxidative stress derived from the white adipose tissue are suggested as the link between this disease and the development of insulin resistance and metabolic comorbidities. The presence of unicellular eukaryotic parasites colonizing the human gut ecosystem is a common circumstance, and yet their influence on the inflammatory and redox status of the obese host has not been assessed. Herein, a set of inflammatory and redox biomarkers were assessed together with a parasitological analysis of 97 severely obese subjects. Information was also collected on insulin resista…
Parasitación intestinal por unicelulares eucariotas en una población con obesidad mórbida: implicaciones clínico-metabólicas
2022
La obesidad es una enfermedad grave y multidimensional que, en la actualidad, ha alcanzado dimensiones pandémicas. Muchos son los mecanismos fisiopatológicos propuestos para intentar explicar el marcado aumento de su incidencia, y que se han orientado a hallar nuevas dianas terapéuticas con las que combatirla. Clásicamente se han señalado los factores ambientales propios del estilo de vida occidental (como la alimentación hipercalórica y el sedentarismo) como relevantes en el desarrollo de esta enfermedad; sin embargo, nuevas evidencias apuntan hacia que también podrían jugar un papel importante elementos infecciosos del medio, con repercusiones tanto perjudiciales como protectoras sobre el…
Enteroparasitosis asociadas a trastornos intestinales crónicos
2021
Las enteroparasitosis afectan a la estructura y ambiente intestinal generando sintomatología en pacientes susceptibles. Éstas podrían llegar a desencadenar, agravar o confundirse con Trastornos Gastrointestinales Crónicos (TGC), cada vez más frecuentes en la población. En el presente estudio, se analiza la prevalencia de parásitos intestinales en 295 pacientes con TGC y/o sintomatología mediante la combinación de métodos diagnósticos. Giardia intestinalis fue el parásito más prevalente (61,7%), seguido de Blastocystis sp. (13,2%), con una prevalencia de parasitación general del 67%. El análisis molecular halló los genotipos A (96%) y B (4%) de G. intestinalis, y cinco subtipos de Blastocyst…
Parasitosis intestinales en pacientes con malabsorción a lactosa y/o fructosa. Valoración del efecto de la terapia combinada
2019
La malabsorción de carbohidratos entre adultos es cada vez más frecuente. Estudios recientes sugieren una relación entre las parasitosis intestinales y el desarrollo de estos procesos patológicos. Las enteroparasitosis provocan cambios en la mucosa intestinal asociados con mala digestión y malabsorción de los alimentos. Este estudio ha analizado la frecuencia de parásitos intestinales en individuos adultos con trastornos gastrointestinales crónicos y diagnóstico de malabsorción a carbohidratos mediante el test de aliento. Para el diagnostico parasitológico se combinaron técnicas convencionales con moleculares. Los parásitos detectados fueron: Giardia intestinalis (24,4%), Blastocystis sp. (…