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Background and Objectives: Toxoplasmosis is a life-threatening zoonotic infection in immunosuppressive individuals. Determining the prevalence and seropositivity rates of toxoplasmosis in asymptomatic blood donors is crucial in terms of the risk status of the transmission of this infection to the blood recipients. Materials and Methods: In this study, the presence and level of the specific Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies in blood donors was investigated by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA). The statistical significance levels between Toxoplasma seropositivity and demographic characteristics of the donors such as age, educational status, raw meat consumption, drinking water supply were examined. Results: Toxoplasma IgG seropositivity was found among the 225 (25.6%) of the donors present in the study group, while IgM seropositivity was detected in 20 donors (2.3%). The number of donors with only IgM (+) was 8 (0.9%). Both IgG and IgM seropositivities were found in 12 donors (1.4%). Conclusion: Our study provides information about Toxoplasma seropositivity based on the samples collected from the donors who were admitted to the blood center of a university hospital in Ankara, Turkey. This study demonstrates that Toxoplasma seropositivity is high in the rural areas and the regions where the education level is low.

We investigated that the effects of melatonin on N-methyl-D: -aspartat receptor (NMDAR) subunits 2A and 2B concentrations and on markers of oxidative stress in hippocampus of rats treated with melatonin for 4 weeks. Animals were divided into four groups according to their melatonin doses (control group (C), n = 7; 5 mg/kg group (M5), n = 7; 10 mg/kg group (M10), n = 8; 20 mg/kg group (M20), n = 8) and received the melatonin as intraperitoneal injection. After 4 weeks of treatment, electrophoretic examination was done using sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrilamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blotting in hippocampal homogenates of different groups. Malondialdehyde (MDA), an end product of lipid peroxidation, was assayed in all groups. There were significant increases in both NMDAR 2A; 5 mg/kg group (n = 3, p < 0.05), 10 mg/kg group (n = 3, p < 0.05), 20 mg/kg group (n = 3, p < 0.05) and NMDAR 2B expressions; 5 mg group (n = 3, p < 0.05), 10 mg group (n = 3, p < 0.05), 20 mg group (n = 3, p < 0.05), compared to the control group. No significant difference in MDA concentrations was found between groups. The present study clearly demonstrates that melatonin alters hippocampal NMDAR subunit concentrations in a dose-dependent manner without causing lipid peroxidation.