Depression disorder is one of the most common psychological recognitions that characterized by sadness, low self-confidence, and disinterest in every activity. Considering evidence showing the effects of toxoplasmosis on the psychological disease, this study conducted to investigate the serological and molecular aspects of Toxoplasma gondii infection among patients with depression. In this study, after selecting the patients with depression and control groups under the supervision of a psychologist, the blood samples were collected and the serum samples and buffy coat were separated. The specific anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies in serum samples were evaluated using the commercial ELISA kit. Then the desired region of the Toxoplasma B1 gene was amplified using the specific primers. To confirm the specificity of primers to amplify the B1 gene of Toxoplasma, the extracted PCR product was sequenced. The overall prevalence of toxoplasmosis in patients with depression was 59.8 and 60.19% by ELISA and PCR, respectively. In the control group, the prevalence of Toxoplasma was 56.3 and 40.2% by serology and PCR. There was a significant correlation between the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and depression. Moreover, a significant difference was found between the variables of age, sex, kind of nutrition, level of education and toxoplasmosis among the two cases and control groups. The higher prevalence of Toxoplasma infection among patients with depression compared with the control group indicates the probable impact of this parasite on depression and exacerbates its symptoms, which requires special attention of specialist physicians and patient’s relatives.

中文翻译：

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抑郁症和弓形虫感染：通过血清分子病例对照研究评估可能的关系

抑郁症是最常见的心理认知之一，其特点是悲伤、自信心低、对每一项活动都不感兴趣。考虑到证据表明弓形虫病对心理疾病的影响，本研究旨在调查抑郁症患者弓形虫感染的血清学和分子学方面。本研究在心理学家的监督下选择抑郁症患者和对照组后，采集血液样本，分离血清样本和血沉棕黄层。使用商业 ELISA 试剂盒评估血清样品中的特异性抗弓形虫 IgG 抗体。然后使用特异性引物扩增弓形虫 B1 基因的所需区域。为了确认扩增弓形虫 B1 基因的引物的特异性，对提取的 PCR 产物进行测序。通过ELISA和PCR检测，抑郁症患者弓形体病的总体患病率分别为59.8%和60.19%。在对照组中，通过血清学和 PCR 检测，弓形虫的患病率为 56.3% 和 40.2%。弓形体病的患病率与抑郁症之间存在显着相关性。此外，两个病例和对照组的年龄、性别、营养种类、受教育程度和弓形体病等变量之间存在显着差异。与对照组相比，抑郁症患者弓形虫感染率较高表明这种寄生虫可能对抑郁症产生影响并加剧其症状，