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Background & Objective: Although many experimental studies provide convincing evidence, that type II immunity is protective against helminthes, recent data in mice reveal that Th1 are also important in some cestods like Hymenolepis nana. To reveal the role of Th1 and Th2 lymphocyte in immunity against H.nana, the levele of IL12, IFNγ, IL5, IL13 was determined in serum of human infected with H.nana. Materials & Methods: In a case control study in 2006 in Mazandaran Medical Sciences university a total of 31 patients (case) with H.nana infection and 30 clinical healthy people (control) were included in this study. Measurment of IL12, IFNγ, IL13 and IL5 in serum samples were performed by solid-phase sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbant assay. Differential leukocyte count also was done. T test, mannwhitney test and wilcoxan W test were used for data analysis. Results: The mean concentration of IFNγ, IL13, IL12, IL5 in the sera of patient with H.nana infection were higher than control group, but only the difference between concentration of IFNγ (P<0.05) and IL13 (P<0.05) in two groups were significant. There was an increase in percentage of monocytes, Eosinophils and lymphocytes in patient when compared to the control group, but this increase was not significant. Conclusion: Results form the present study are in agreement with experimental study in that both Th1 and Th2 responses occurs in H.nana infection.

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Background and Objective: Aging and old age are associated with an increase in inflammatory cytokines. Due to their anti-inflammatory properties, constituents of spirulina may be able to reduce or even improve this process. This study was performed to determine the effects of endurance training and spirulina supplementation on the level of inflammatory cytokines in overweight men.
Methods: In this clinical trial, 40 overweight, middle-aged and elderly men were randomly selected and divided into 5 groups: control-normal, control-overweight, overweight + training, overweight + supplement, and overweight + training + supplement. The training program consisting of an hour of walking on a treadmill, stationary bike workout, and climbing stairs was performed at an intensity of 65% of the maximum heart rate, 3 sessions a week, for 8 weeks. Individuals in the supplement groups received a spirulina tablet (500 mg) twice daily in the morning and evening. Blood sampling was performed after 12 hours of fasting at baseline and 48 hours after the last training session. The level of inflammatory cytokines including transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: The levels of TGF-β, IL-6, and TNF-α were higher in the control-overweight group than in the healthy control-normal group (P<0.05). Training and supplementation significantly reduced the inflammatory markers in overweight men (P<0.05). Moreover, the level of inflammatory markers was significantly lower in the training + supplement group compared with the training group and the supplement group (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Endurance training combined with spirulina supplementation can significantly reduce inflammatory factors in overweight individuals.