EFFECT OF SILICON DIOXIDE NANOPARTICLES ON SYRIAN HAMSTERS INFECTED BY OPISTORCHIS FELINEUS: <sup>1</sup>H MRS STUDY OF THE BRAIN
In recent years, silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO<sub>2</sub>-NPs) have been widely used in medicine and the pharmaceutical industry, however, their effect on the brain has hardly been studied. We assessed the effects of long-term consumption of 5 nm amorphous SiO<sub>2</sub>-NPs by Syrian hamsters infected with the trematodes Opisthorchis felineus on the hippocampus and frontal cortex. Spectroscopic determination of brain neurometabolites, performed using Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 11.7 Tesla magnetic field, has shown that the ratio of excitatory neurotransmitters (glutamate + glutamine + aspartate) to inhibitory (GABA + glycine) was higher in animals infected with O. felineus. However, pre-consumption of the SiO<sub>2</sub>-NPs solution prevented this imbalance. In addition, the protective effect of SiO<sub>2</sub>-NPs on the level of myo-inositol and glycine was found. It is concluded that the use of SiO<sub>2</sub>-NPs can neutralize the negative effects on the brain caused by infectious factors.