Abstract

Maysoon Abdul-zahra Merdaw, Najwan Kaisar Fakree, Hala Hussain Hadi, Shahad Wisam Ahmed, Sonia Emad Naser

Toxoplasmosis is a widespread infection usually caused by Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) parasite. It occurs in humans and other warm blooded animals, causing severe problems. It was found that there is an alteration in the trace elements concentrations levels associated with some human diseases.
This study aimed to investigate the changes in the concentrations of some trace elements (Mg, Fe , Zn, and Cu) in the sera of 60 immunocompetent patients with chronic toxoplasmosis and 82 healthy individuals as a control group.
Measuring the serum level of seropositivity rate of anti-T. gondii antibodies was done by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) Kit, while the concentrations of trace elements were measured by absorption spectrophotometry.
The copper element showed significant difference between patients and controls with lower average of concentration in seropositive patients than the control. Non-significantly difference was found for this element between females and males of both control and patient groups (p>0.05).
Non-significantly difference was found in Mg, Zn and Fe levels between patients and control groups.
Such results indicate the significance of additional knowledge of the mineral homeostasis and the regulatory processes during toxoplasmosis infection.