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Background: Trichomoniasis is one of the most non-viral sexually transmitted diseases worldwide that causes some complications such as adverse pregnancy outcomes. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of Trichomonas vaginalis infection among pregnant women in Hamadan, west of Iran. Methods: This study was conducted on 1200 pregnant women attending the Hamadan city health centers in 2015. After gathering socio-demographic characteristics and clinical signs and symptoms of the women, first-voided morning urine was collected from the all participants and subjected to sediment wet-mount preparations and Dorset culture medium for detection of T. vaginalis. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Results: T. vaginalis was diagnosed in 0.6% (7/1200) of the urine samples using two parasitological methods. Dorset culture medium and direct wet-mount examination of the urine sediments were positive in 7 (0.6%) and 4 (0.3%) samples, respectively. There was no relationship between trichomoniasis and age, education, occupation, place of living, husband's job, and history of contraceptive methods (P > 0.05). Conclusions:The results demonstrated the rate of T. vaginalis infection in pregnant women is relatively low in the area but, because of the importance of this issue in pregnant women, it can be substantial during antenatal care.

Previous investigations demonstrated that immune responses play critical roles in the defense against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). A key regulator of immune responses is the cytokine, IL-10 and polymorphisms within its promoter which could alter its expression. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the correlation between polymorphism at the -819 position of the IL-10 gene and VL in a selected Iranian population. This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 patients with clinical presentation of VL and seropositive for the leishmania (group 1), 62 patients without clinical presentation but seropositive (group 2), and 128 healthy controls (group 3). The IL-10 -819 polymorphism was evaluated using the PCR-RFLP technique. The anti-leishmania antibody titration was assessed using an immunofluorescence assay. Our results showed that the polymorphism at IL-10 -819 (C/T) position was significantly associated with VL, and C/T genotype was significantly higher in VL patients when compared to groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.001). However, the results demonstrated that the C and T alleles were not associated with VL (p = 0.855). The data presented here confirm the results of previous reports that polymorphisms at the -819 position of the IL-10 gene can influence susceptibility to VL suggesting that the C/T genotype may be considered as a risk factor for the disease.

Background: Trichomoniasis is one of the most common nonviral sexually transmitted infections worldwide that its drug-resistant cases are on the rise. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiprotozoal activity of Marrubium vulgare essential oil and extracts against Trichomonas vaginalis. Methods: After preparation of essential oil and extracts of M. vulgare, five T. vaginalis isolates were subjected to susceptibility testing after 24 and 48 hours of incubation at 35.5°C under aerobic conditions. Results: The examined essential oil and extracts had potent antitrichomonal activities against T. vaginalis. After 48-hour exposure, the most antitrichomonal activity of M. vulgare preparations was related to the essential oil, with a mean minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 291 ± 136 µg/mL, followed by ethyl acetate (541 ± 197 µg/mL), methanol (1000 ± 0 µg/mL), and n-hexane (1500 ± 490 µg/mL) extracts, in comparison with metronidazole (with MICs ranging from 3.1 to 12.5 µg/mL). Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that the compounds of M. vulgare have significant activities against T. vaginalis parasite. Therefore, future studies are needed to clear more details about antitrichomonal properties of M. vulgare compounds