1.Post-COVID-19 cryptosporidiosis: A serious risk or mere association?
Enas, A.E. ; Hadel, M.A. ; Emad, A.A. ; Ibrahim, B.E. ; Morsy, S. ; Noha, M.A.
Tropical Biomedicine 2023;40(No.2):199-207
Post-COVID-19 conditions encompass a wide range of health problems, including enteritis, but their
association with parasitic infections has not yet been investigated. This study analyzed gastrointestinal
symptoms, medical histories, fecal Cryptosporidium oocysts, and the history of COVID-19 infection
in patients who attended the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, from January to July 2021. Fecal
biomarkers, including H. pylori, occult blood, fecal calprotectin (FCAL), and TNF-a, were measured, and
Cryptosporidium spp. genotypes were molecularly characterized among post-COVID-19 patients using
RFLP. Preliminary results from 210 post-COVID-19 patients revealed that group 1 (Cryptosporidiumpositive) (n = 49) and group 2 (Cryptosporidium-negative) (n = 161) showed no significant difference in
the prevalence rate of diabetes mellitus (DM). While group 2 was linked to diarrhea, only infections with
Cryptosporidium post-COVID-19 were related to chronic diarrhea, vomiting, and weight loss. A total of
220 healthy subjects served as negative controls. Administering azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, and
ivermectin was significantly related to an increased risk of Cryptosporidium infection in group 1, whereas
only azithromycin was more frequently recorded in group 2. Antioxidant supplementation insignificantly
affected the incidence of cryptosporidiosis. Cryptosporidiosis with a history of COVID-19 was linked to H.
pylori infections, increased inflammatory biomarkers (FCAL and TNF-a), and occult blood when compared
with group 2. Cryptosporidium genotype 1 was the most commonly occurring subset in individuals with
post-COVID-19. The findings demonstrated that aggravating gastrointestinal manifestations, increased
fecal biomarkers and anti-COVID-19 therapeutic interventions are significantly related to the existence
of Cryptosporidium oocysts in patients with post-COVID-19, indicating the predominance of.
2.Effects of vitamin E administration on Plasmodium berghei induced pathological changes and oxidative stress in mice
Ibrahim, M.A. ; Zuwahu, M.M.B. ; Isah, M.B. ; Jatau, I.D. ; Aliyu, A.B. ; Umar, I.A.
Tropical Biomedicine 2012;29(1):98-106
Abstract. The effects of daily intraperitoneal doses of 1000 i.u/kg body weight of vitamin E
on the course of Plasmodium berghei NK 65 infection and the parasite-induced anemia as
well as alterations in the relative weight of some selected organs and antioxidant status in
mice were investigated. The number of parasitized red cells were not initially affected by the
vitamin administration but were persistently lowered after 11th day post infection to the
termination of the experiment. The P. berghei infection was found to induce anemia, significantly
(P<0.05) increased the relative weight of liver, spleen and kidney but significantly decreased
(P<0.05) the relative brain weight. However, all the parasite-induced changes in these
parameters were significantly (P<0.05) ameliorated by the vitamin administration. Furthermore,
malonydialdehyde concentration in the serum, liver and brain of infected animals was
significantly (P<0.05) increased whereas superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were
significantly (P<0.05) decreased by the infection. But vitamin E administration was found to,
a significant degree (P<0.05), reversed the disease-induced alterations in these oxidative
stress markers. It was concluded that vitamin E at the dose and route used prevented P.
berghei induced anemia as well as alterations in relative organ weight and antioxidant status
in mice


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