Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Clinical Characteristics of Patients With Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract Schizophrenia is associated with an increased prevalence of IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii seropositivity), whereby the infection seems to precede the disorder. However, it remains unclear whether a T. gondii infection affects clinical characteristics of schizophrenia. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted following PRISMA guidelines examining the association between T. gondii seropositivity and severity of total, positive, or negative symptoms or age of onset in schizophrenia. PubMed, Embase, and PsycInfo were systematically searched up to June 23, 2019 (PROSPERO #CRD42018087766). Random-effects models were used for analysis. Furthermore, the influence of potential moderators was analyzed. Indications for publication bias were examined. From a total of 934 reports, 13 studies were included. No overall effect on severity of total, positive, or negative symptoms was found. However, in patients with a shorter duration of illness T. gondii seropositivity was associated with more severe positive symptoms (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.32; P < .001). Similar but smaller effects were seen for total symptoms, while it was absent for negative symptoms. Additionally, a significantly higher age of onset was found in those with T. gondii seropositivity (1.8 y, P = .015), although this last finding was probably influenced by publication bias and study quality. Taken together, these findings indicate that T. gondii infection has a modest effect on the severity of positive and total symptoms in schizophrenia among those in the early stages of the disorder. This supports the hypothesis that T. gondii infection is causally related to schizophrenia, although more research remains necessary.

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Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cancer patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Microbial Pathogenesis ◽

10.1016/j.micpath.2019.01.040 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 129 ◽

pp. 30-42 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Davood Anvari ◽

Mehdi Sharif ◽

Shahabeddin Sarvi ◽

Sargis A. Aghayan ◽

Shirzad Gholami ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Toxoplasma Gondii Infection

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Leishmanicidal effects of resveratrol and its derivatives: a systematic review and meta-Analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-25274/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nasrin Amiri Dashatan ◽

Marzieh Ashrafmansouri ◽

Mehdi Koushki ◽

Nayebali Ahmadi

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Publication Bias ◽

Data Extraction ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Sensitivity Analyses ◽

Protective Effects ◽

Random Effects Models ◽

Important Health ◽

Mean Differences ◽

Meta Analyses

Abstract Background Leishmaniasis is one of the most important health problems worldwide. The evidence has suggested that resveratrol and its derivatives have anti-leishmanial effects; however, the results are inconsistent and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of resveratrol and its derivatives on the Leishmania viability through a systematic review and meta-analysis of available relevant studies. Methods The electronic databases PubMed, ScienceDirect, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus were queried between October 2000 and April 2020 using a comprehensive search strategy. The eligible articles selected and data extraction conducted by two reviewers. Mean differences of IC50 (concentration leading to reduction of 50% of Leishmania) for each outcome was calculated using random-effects models. Sensitivity analyses and prespecified subgroup were conducted to evaluate potential heterogeneity and the stability of the pooled results. Publication bias was evaluated using the Egger’s and Begg’s tests. We also followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for this review. Results Ten studies were included in the meta-analysis. We observed that RSV and its derivatives had significant reducing effects on Leishmania viability in promastigote [24.02 µg/ml; (95% CI 17.1, 30.8); P < 0.05; I2 = 99.8%; P heterogeneity = 0.00] and amastigote [18.3 µg/ml; (95% CI 13.5, 23.2); P < 0.05; I2 = 99.6%; P heterogeneity = 0.00] stages of Leishmania. A significant publication bias was observed in the meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses showed a similar effect size while reducing the heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis indicated that the pooled effects of leishmanicidal of resveratrol and its derivatives were affected by type of stilbenes and Leishmania species. Conclusions Our findings clearly suggest that the strategies for the treatment of leishmaniasis should be focused on natural products such as RSV and its derivatives. Further study is needed to identify the mechanisms mediating this protective effects of RSV and its derivatives in leishmaniasis.

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