title: Blastocystis and irritable bowel syndrome: Frequency and subtypes from Iranian patients.
abstract: There are inconsistent findings about the role of Blastocystis infection in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The present study was aimed to determine the frequency of Blastocystis and their subtypes (ST) in patients with IBS. A total of 122 patients with IBS and 122 healthy individuals referred to the medical laboratory centers in Ahvaz (southwest of Iran) participated in the study. The frequency of Blastocystis was determined. Blastocystis genomic DNA was extracted from positive feces, and PCR was performed using seven primer pairs targeting the SSU rDNA gene. Blastocystis was detected in 19.67% of patients with IBS and 17.2% of individuals without IBS. The difference between two groups was not statistically significant (P=0.3). Among the five subtypes of Blastocystis, ST3 was more common in patients with IBS and control group. However, there were no significant differences between two groups in terms of subtypes of Blastocystis (P=0.6). It seems, the role of Blastocystis in the etiology of IBS should be further investigated. Furthermore, a model of study should be designed to investigate the role of host factors in severity of parasitic disease.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Infectious Diseases of Digestive System, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran; Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology & Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran. Electronic address: Khademvatan@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shahram
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khademvatan
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Infectious Diseases of Digestive System, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. Electronic address: Rahim.masjedi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Rahim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Masjedizadeh
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Infectious Diseases of Digestive System, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Fakher
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rahim
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Infectious Diseases of Digestive System, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mahbodfar
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Infectious Diseases of Digestive System, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran.
authors.forename: Roya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Salehi
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yousefi-Razin
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foroutan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016844:Blastocystis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016776:Blastocystis Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D043183:Irritable Bowel Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal
keywords: Blastocystis; Iran; Irritable bowel syndrome; Subtype