title: Toxoplasmosis-associated abortion and stillbirth in Tehran, Iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was aimed to evaluate the role of toxoplasmosis in etiology of abortion and stillbirth based on molecular and serological techniques.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 110 pregnant women with abortion and stillbirth were enrolled as the case group, and 110 pregnant women with normal delivery were enrolled as the control group. Serological and molecular detections of Toxoplasma gondii were assessed by ELISA and PCR methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The seroprevalence of IgG was 25.5% in the case group (26.8% in abortion and 21.4% in stillbirth) and 26.4% in the control group. IgM seropositivity was detected in 2.7% of the case group (3.6% in abortion and 0% in stillbirth) and 0.9% of the control group (p = 0.37). Toxoplasma gondii DNA was detected in 6.4% of the case group (7.3% in abortion and 3.6% in stillbirth) and 1.8% of the control group by PCR (p = 0.17). The major risk factor of congenital toxoplasmosis was the history of eating undercooked meat (p = 0.06).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results of this study revealed that the rate of PCR positive in women with abortion and stillbirth was 3.7 times higher than that in normal delivery, but the difference was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that toxoplasmosis can be involved in etiology of abortion and stillbirth.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine , Kashan University of Medical Sciences , Kashan , Iran .
authors.forename: Fatemeh Sadat
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Ghasemi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine , Kashan University of Medical Sciences , Kashan , Iran .
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rasti
authors.affiliation: b Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine , Kashan University of Medical Sciences , Kashan , Iran .
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piroozmand
authors.affiliation: c Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran .|d Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine , Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran .
authors.forename: Mojgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bandehpour
authors.affiliation: c Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran .|d Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine , Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences , Tehran , Iran .
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kazemi
authors.affiliation: e Department of Statistics and Public Health, Faculty of Health , Kashan University of Medical Sciences , Kashan , Iran , and.
authors.forename: Seyed Gholam Abbas
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mousavi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine , Kashan University of Medical Sciences , Kashan , Iran .|f Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences , Tarbiat Modares University , Tehran , Iran.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdoli
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000469:parasitology*; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D011247:Pregnancy; D050497:Stillbirth; D014125:Toxoplasmosis, Congenital / Q000150:complications*
keywords: Abortion; Iran; Toxoplasma gondii; stillbirth