Helmints

Human cystic and alveolar echinococcosis are helmintic zoonotic diseases caused by infections with the larval stages of the cestode parasites Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis, respectively. Both diseases are progressive and chronic, and often fatal if left unattended for E. multilocularis. As a treatment approach, chemotherapy against these orphan and neglected diseases has been available for more than 40 years. However, drug options were limited to the benzimidazoles albendazole and mebendazole, the only chemical compounds currently licensed for treatment in humans...

Mitochondria are critical cellular organelles that play a fundamental role in cellular metabolism and oxidative stress and are well known to trigger multiple cell death pathways. The study of sequence of mitochondrial events as it relates to apoptotic/cell death events can provide critical insights into mechanism of cellular homeostasis, stress and death. Availability of rapid and simplified cytometric testing methods for evaluating mitochondrial changes, apoptosis and cell death in parallel can greatly enhance our understanding of mechanism of compound action...

BACKGROUND: Clonorchiasis is prevalent in the Far East, and a major health problem in endemic areas. Infected persons may experience, if not treated, serious complications such as bile stone formation, pyogenic cholangitis, and even cholangiocarcinoma. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to prevent serious complications and, therefore, the simple and reliable diagnostic method is necessary to control clonorchiasis in endemic areas, where resources for the diagnosis are limited...

BACKGROUND: Histological acute appendicitis patterns associated with Enterobius vermicularis is an extremely rare finding. The exact role of this parasite in acute appendicitis is controversial as usually resected specimens show no evidence of histological inflammation. CASE PRESENTATION: We present herein a case of a 21-year-old male Arabic patient who presented with clinical syndrome of acute appendicitis. Emergency appendectomy was performed and the histopathological examination of the resected specimen showed the presence of E...

Eosinophilia is a common finding in international travelers and immigrants, being an helmintic infection its main etiology. The positive predictive value of eosinophilia for an helmintosis is low in travellers. Eosinophilia may be an incidental finding, or symptomatic, and it represents a clinical challenge due to the low sensitivity and specificity of direct and indirect parasitological diagnostic tests, respectively. It requires a structured approach based on geographical areas, environmental exposures and behavioral risks, and associated symptoms...

UNLABELLED: The galls of Terminala chebula (Gaertn.) Retz. (Combretaceae) are used for the treatment of various diseases in folk medicine and has been found to posses anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-helmintic, anti-tyrosinase, and anti-aging activities. Considering the ethano-botanical and diverse pharmacological applications of galls of T. chebula, in this study, we investigate the possible toxic effects of different gall extracts of T. chebula by Brine shrimp (Artemia salina) toxicity assay...

BACKGROUND: Th9 cells are a subset of CD4+ T cells that express the protoypical cytokine, IL-9. Th9 cells are known to effect protective immunity in animal models of intestinal helminth infections. However, the role of Th9 cells in human intestinal helminth infections has never been examined. METHODOLOGY: To examine the role of Th9 cells in Strongyloidis stercoralis (Ss), a common intestinal helminth infection, we compared the frequency of Th9 expressing IL-9 either singly (mono-functional) or co-expressing IL-4 or IL-10 (dual-functional) in Ss-infected individuals (INF) to frequencies in uninfected (UN) individuals...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the parasitic infection status of cyprinid fish, Capoeta damascina in Gomban spring-stream, Kor River Basin, Fars Province, southwestern Iran. METHODS: A total of 12 cyprinid fish (7 females and 5 males) were collected from Gomban spring-stream, Kor River Basin, Fars Province, southwestern Iran. The collected fish were dissected carefully and their internal organs such as liver, gonad, muscle, abdominal lobes, whole viscera and digestive tract were surveyed parasitologically...

In this paper, we aim to systematically analyze the effectiveness of community based interventions (CBI) for the prevention and control of non-helminthic diseases including dengue, trypanosomiasis, chagas, leishmaniasis, buruli ulcer, leprosy and trachoma. We systematically reviewed literature published up to May 2013 and included 62 studies in this review. Findings from our review suggest that CBI including insecticide spraying; insecticide treated bednets and curtains; community education and cleanliness campaigns; chemoprophylaxis through mass drug administration; and treatment have the potential to reduce the incidence and burden of non-helminthic diseases...

In this paper, we aim to systematically analyze the effectiveness of community-based interventions (CBIs) for the prevention and control of helminthiasis including soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) (ascariasis, hookworms, and trichuriasis), lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, dracunculiasis, and schistosomiasis. We systematically reviewed literature published before May 2013 and included 32 studies in this review. Findings from the meta-analysis suggest that CBIs are effective in reducing the prevalence of STH (RR: 0...

Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb (Moraceae) is cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Bengal, Khasi Hills and Western Ghats. Objectives of the present study were to determine antibacterial, antioxidant, anthelmintic and insecticidal efficacy of methanol extract of A. lakoocha fruit pericarp. Antibacterial activity was tested against by Agar well diffusion method. Antioxidant activity in terms of free radical scavenging ability was determined by DPPH free radical scavenging assay. Anthelmintic efficacy was determined using adult Indian earthworm...

Fasciola hepatica is a liver fluke that infects 2.4 million of people and causes great economical loss in animal production. To date a 100% effective vaccine has not been developed and the disease is controlled by drug therapy. Great efforts are put into development of effective vaccine against parasite what is difficult since Fasciola spp. (like other helmints) during evolutionary process has developed sophisticated and efficient methods to evade immune response. During preliminary experiments it is convenient to use cell lines which are relatively cheap and allow for reproducible comparison of results between laboratories...

Intestinal helmintic infection, continue to be a cause of major concern in several parts of the world, particularly in the developing nations. The use of plant extracts to control poultry helminths is increasing in different rearing systems. The anthelmintic activity of ginger and curcumin was studied on the nematode Ascaridia galli. In vitro and in vivo studies were allocated. Live parasites for in vitro studies were collected from the intestine of naturally infected chickens. Some living worms were incubated at 37 °C in media containing ginger at three concentration levels (25, 50, and 100 mg/ml), and others were incubated in media containing curcumin at the same concentration levels...

A small amount of ammonia is used in full-scale plants to partially sanitize sewage sludge, thereby allowing successive biological processes to enable the high biological stability of the organic matter. Nevertheless, ammonia and methane are both produced during the anaerobic digestion (AD) of sludge. This paper describes the evaluation of a lab-scale study on the ability of anaerobic process to sanitize sewage sludge and produce biogas, thus avoiding the addition of ammonia to sanitize sludge. According to both previous work and a state of the art full-scale plant, ammonia was added to a mixture of sewage sludge at a rate so that the pH values after stirring were 8...

Medicinal plants are used by traditional practitioners to treat several ailments. Ethnomedicinal studies on Trema orientalis Linn. Blume (Ulmaceae) have shown that it is used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, respiratory diseases, oliguria, and malaria. This article is aimed at providing comprehensive information on the medicinal uses, biology, phytochemical constituents, and pharmacological data available on T. orientalis. This has been done to explore its therapeutic potential for future research opportunities...

BACKGROUND: This study was carried out in Mahasarakham Primary Healthcare Center, Mahasarakham province in the area of Northeastern of Thailand. The experiment was randomized control trial clinical study in order to examine the side effects of Areca catechu Linn., Thai traditional formulae medicine, mebendazole in the treatment of anti-helmintic activity of mixed worms infection in human. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experimental group consisted of 15 patients and 5 patients for control group with inclusion and exclusion criteria, which were screened by parasitologist with the selection of mixed worm infection patient samples...

The resistance mechanisms of Blatella germanica, one of the most important urban plagues worldwide since it is a mechanical vector that houses a number of highly harmful viruses, fungi, helmints and bacteria were studied. There are different control methods used against Blattella germnanica, with insecticides playing the leading role. Their uncontrolled application has caused the development of insecticice resistance in this species. This paper adapted biochemical methods to detect the enzymes esterase, acetylcholinesterase and glutathine-S-transferase as posible resistance mechanisms...

Angiostrongyliasis, also known as eosinophils meningitis, is caused by Angiostrongylus cantonensis parasites in the human central nervous system. Currently, the drug of choice for treatment of angiostrongyliasis is albendazole, but dead worm lysis causes severe inflammatory response, which leads to central nervous system damage. Tribendimidine, a broad-spectrum anti-helmintic drug developed in China, is a derivative of amidantel. This study was designed to test the efficacy of tribendimidine against A. cantonensis in mice...

Parasitic infestations of the galdbladder and biliary tract are quite rare. Taenia saginata is an intestinal helmint and patients harbouring adult T.saginata tapeworms are mostly asymptomatic and discharge only fecal proglottids. In some cases there might be nonspecific symptoms like vomiting, nausea, epigastric pain, diarrhea and weight loss. Tenia saginata is a also rare cause of ileus, pancreatitis, cholecystitis and cholangitis. We report a case of acute cholangitis caused by T. saginata presenting with fever, nausea, vomiting, jaundice and right upper quadrant pain...

BACKGROUND: Parasitic infections have been shown to have deleterious effects on host nutritional status. In addition, although helmintic infection can modulate the host inflammatory response directed against the parasite, a causal association between helminths and allergy remains uncertain. The present study was therefore designed to evaluate the relationship between nutritional status, parasite infection and prevalence of allergy among school children. METHODS: A cross sectional study was performed involving school children in two elementary schools in Gondar, Ethiopia...