Objective: Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical parasitic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. Schistosoma japonicum is zoonotic in China, the Philippines, and Indonesia, with bovines acting as major reservoirs of human infection. The primary objective of the trial was to examine the impact of a combination of human mass chemotherapy, snail control through mollusciciding, and SjCTPI bovine vaccination on the rate of human infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemical overexposures and war-related stress during the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW) are implicated in the persisting pathological symptoms that many GW veterans continue to endure. These symptoms culminate into a disease known as Gulf War Illness (GWI) and affect about a third of the GW veteran population. Currently, comprehensive effective GWI treatment options are unavailable.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sporozoites isolated from the salivary glands of Plasmodium-infected mosquitoes are a prerequisite for several basic and pre-clinical applications. Although salivary glands are pooled to maximize sporozoite recovery, insufficient yields pose logistical and analytical hurdles; thus, predicting yields prior to isolation would be valuable. Preceding oocyst densities in the midgut is an obvious candidate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResidual effects of the 1990-1991 Gulf War (GW) still plague veterans 30 years later as Gulf War Illness (GWI). Thought to stem mostly from deployment-related chemical overexposures, GWI is a disease with multiple neurological symptoms with likely immunological underpinnings. Currently, GWI remains untreatable, and the long-term neurological disease manifestation is not characterized fully.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The present study investigated if treatment with the immunotherapeutic, lacto-N-fucopentaose-III (LNFPIII), resulted in amelioration of acute and persisting deficits in synaptic plasticity and transmission as well as trophic factor expression along the hippocampal dorsoventral axis in a mouse model of Gulf War Illness (GWI).
Main Methods: Mice received either coadministered or delayed LNFPIII treatment throughout or following, respectively, exposure to a 15-day GWI induction paradigm. Subsets of animals were subsequently sacrificed 48 h, seven months, or 11 months post GWI-related (GWIR) exposure for hippocampal qPCR or in vitro electrophysiology experiments.
Approximately one-third of Persian Gulf War veterans are afflicted by Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic multisymptom condition that fundamentally presents with cognitive deficits (i.e., learning and memory impairments) and neuroimmune dysfunction (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe microbiota's influence on host (patho) physiology has gained interest in the context of Gulf War Illness (GWI), a chronic disorder featuring dysregulation of the gut-brain-immune axis. This study examined short- and long-term effects of GWI-related chemicals on gut health and fecal microbiota and the potential benefits of Lacto-N-fucopentaose-III (LNFPIII) treatment in a GWI model. Male C57BL/6J mice were administered pyridostigmine bromide (PB; 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite significant progress, China faces the challenge of re-emerging schistosomiasis transmission in currently controlled areas due, in part, to the presence of a range of animal reservoirs, notably water buffalo and cattle, which can harbor infections. Environmental, ecological and social-demographic changes in China, shown to affect the distribution of oncomelanid snails, can also impact future schistosomiasis transmission. In light of their importance in the , lifecycle, vaccination has been proposed as a means to reduce the excretion of egg from cattle and buffalo, thereby interrupting transmission from these reservoir hosts to snails.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS Negl Trop Dis
March 2019
Schistosomiasis remains a serious zoonotic disease in China and the Philippines. Water buffalo and cattle account for the majority of transmission. Vaccination of water buffalo is considered a key strategy to reduce disease prevalence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids
January 2018
Alterations in lipid metabolism play a significant role in the pathogenesis of obesity-associated disorders, and dysregulation of the lipidome across multiple diseases has prompted research to identify novel lipids indicative of disease progression. To address the significant gap in knowledge regarding the effect of age and diet on the blood lipidome, we used shotgun lipidomics with electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). We analyzed blood lipid profiles of female C57BL/6 mice following high-fat diet (HFD) and low-fat diet (LFD) consumption for short (6weeks), long (22weeks), and prolonged (36weeks) periods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Infect Dis
February 2017
Objectives: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 2012 among 22 rural barangays in Northern Samar, the Philippines in order to determine the prevalence of single and multiple species helminth infections, their geospatial distribution and underlying risk factors.
Methods: A total of 10,434 individuals who had completed both a medical questionnaire and a stool examination were included in the analysis. Barangay specific prevalence rates were displayed in ArcMap.
Mass drug administration utilising a single oral dose of 40mg/kg of praziquantel (PZQ) has been endorsed and advocated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the global control and elimination of schistosomiasis. However, this strategy is failing primarily because the drugs are not getting to the people who need them the most. The current global coverage is 20%, the drug compliance rate is less than 50%, and the drug efficacy is approximately 50%.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Subclinical morbidity due to schistosomiasis was evaluated in 565 patients, and the enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test was assessed for the first time as a potential screening tool for disease.
Methods: The prevalence and intensity of infection were determined by Kato-Katz thick smear stool examination at baseline and 2 years after curative treatment. The degree of hepatic fibrosis was assessed by ultrasound.
Objective: This study assessed the impact of annual versus biennial praziquantel treatment regimens on the prevalence, intensity of infection, and liver fibrosis dynamics of Asiatic schistosomiasis (caused by Schistosoma japonicum) among individuals residing in 18 endemic barangays in Northern Samar, Philippines.
Methods: Five hundred and sixty-five subjects who reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness and/or were believed to have clinical morbidity based on physical examination were selected for cohort follow-up.
Results: The mean prevalence of schistosomiasis was 34% and the mean intensity of infection was 123.
Background: A cross-sectional survey was performed in 2012 among 18 rural barangays in Northern Samar, the Philippines in order to determine the prevalence of single and multiple species helminth infections and the underlying risk factors of acquiring one or more parasites.
Methods: A total of 6976 participants who completed a medical questionnaire and provided a stool sample for examination were included in the final analysis.
Results: The overall prevalence rates of Schistosoma japonicum, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm were found to be moderate to high at 28.
Stimulating the immune system for potent immune therapy against cancer is potentially a revolutionary method to eradicate cancer. Tumors stimulated with photosensitizers (PSs) not only kill cancer cells but also help to boost the immune system. We recently reported that tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) generated by delivery of a mitochondria-acting PS zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) to MCF-7 breast cancer cells followed by laser irradiation can lead to ex vivo stimulation of mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVaccination remains the most effective public health tool to prevent infectious diseases. Many vaccines are marginally effective and need enhancement for immunocompromised, elderly, and very young populations. To enhance immunogenicity, we exploited the biphasic property of the (RADA)4 synthetic oligopeptide to create VacSIM (vaccine self-assembling immune matrix), a new delivery method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchistosome infection induces significant T helper type 2 (Th2) and anti-inflammatory immune responses and has been shown to negatively impact vaccine efficacy. Our goal was to determine if the administration of schistosome soluble egg antigens (SEA) would negatively influence the induction of cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and Th1-type T cell responses to an HIV candidate vaccine in the Th1-biased C57BL/6 mouse strain. Initial experiments failed, as we were unable to detect any response to the defined class I epitope for HIV-1 IIIB Gag.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchistosomiasis was first reported in the Philippines in 1906. A variety of treatments have been deployed to cure infection and to control the disease in the long-term. We discuss the journey to combat the disease in the Philippines and the lessons learnt which have implications for schistosomiasis control globally.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchistosomiasis is a chronic enteropathogenic disease caused by blood flukes of the genus Schistosoma. The disease afflicts approximately 240 million individuals globally, causing approximately 70 million disability-adjusted life years lost. Chronic infections with morbidity and mortality occur as a result of granuloma formation in the intestine, liver, or in the case of Schistosoma haematobium, the bladder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the Philippines, the current national control strategy for schistosomiasis is annual mass drug administration (MDA) with 40 mg/kg of praziquantel in all schistosomiasis-endemic villages with a prevalence ≥10%.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of schistosomiasis was conducted in 2012 on 18 221 individuals residing in 22 schistosomiasis-endemic villages in the province of Northern Samar. The prevalence of schistosomiasis, intensity of Schistosoma infection, and morbidity of disease were assessed.
Vaccines are an important public health measure for prevention and treatment of diseases. In addition to the vaccine immunogen, many vaccines incorporate adjuvants to stimulate the recipient's immune system and enhance vaccine-specific responses. While vaccine development has advanced from attenuated organism to recombinant protein or use of plasmid DNA, the development of new adjuvants that safely increase immune responses has not kept pace.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite major successes in its control over the past 50years, schistosomiasis japonica continues to be a public health problem in the People's Republic of China (P.R. China).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF