Differentiating between dengue fever and malaria using hematological parameters in endemic areas of Thailand.

Background: Dengue fever (DF) and malaria are the two major public health concerns in tropical countries such as Thailand. Early differentiation between dengue and malaria could help clinicians to identify patients who should be closely monitored for signs of dengue hemorrhagic fever or severe malaria. This study aims to build knowledge on diagnostic markers that are used to discriminate between the infections, which frequently occur in malaria-endemic areas, such as the ones in Thailand.

Establishment and characterization of a novel human cholangiocarcinoma cell line with high metastatic activity.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly metastatic tumor, and the lung is a common site of metastasis. A greater understanding of the biology of metastases is needed to improve treatment outcomes. Herein, a highly metastatic human CCA subline, KKU-213L5 from an original cell line, KKU-213 that has marginally metastatic ability, was established and characterized.

Prevalence and hematological indicators of G6PD deficiency in malaria-infected patients.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and alteration of hematological parameters in malaria patients with a glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, in the western region of Thailand, an endemic region for malaria.

Methods: Data about patients with malaria hospitalized between 2013 and 2015 were collected. Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics such as age and gender, diagnosis on admission, and parasitological results were mined from medical records of the laboratory unit of the Phop Phra Hospital in Tak Province, Thailand.

A diagnostic tool for malaria based on computer software.

Nowadays, the gold standard method for malaria diagnosis is a staining of thick and thin blood film examined by expert laboratorists. It requires well-trained laboratorists, which is a time consuming task, and is un-automated protocol. For this study, Maladiag Software was developed to predict malaria infection in suspected malaria patients.

Cepharanthine suppresses metastatic potential of human cholangiocarcinoma cell lines.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly metastatic tumor with poor responses to traditional chemotherapeutic agents. We have focused on new drugs which can exert effects either alone or in combination with available agents for a better treatment of CCA and recently reported efficacy of cepharanthine (CEP), a natural biscoclaurine alkaloid extract with anti-proliferative activity against human CCA cell lines. CEP treatment effectively suppressed tumor growth in CCA-inoculated mice without serious side-effects and also increased cell apoptosis in primary histocultures of CCA patient tissues, suggesting therapeutic potential of CEP against human CCA.