Treatment options for second-stage gambiense human African trypanosomiasis.

Treatment of second-stage gambiense human African trypanosomiasis relied on toxic arsenic-based derivatives for over 50 years. The availability and subsequent use of eflornithine, initially in monotherapy and more recently in combination with nifurtimox (NECT), has drastically improved the prognosis of treated patients. However, NECT logistic and nursing requirements remain obstacles to its deployment and use in peripheral health structures in rural sub-Saharan Africa.

Improving the Quality of Host Country Ethical Oversight of International Research: The Use of a Collaborative 'Pre-Review' Mechanism for a Study of Fexinidazole for Human African Trypanosomiasis.

Developing countries face numerous barriers to conducting effective and efficient ethics reviews of international collaborative research. In addition to potentially overlooking important scientific and ethical considerations, inadequate or insufficiently trained ethics committees may insist on unwarranted changes to protocols that can impair a study's scientific or ethical validity. Moreover, poorly functioning review systems can impose substantial delays on the commencement of research, which needlessly undermine the development of new interventions for urgent medical needs.

Challenges of controlling sleeping sickness in areas of violent conflict: experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Background: Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, is a fatal neglected tropical disease if left untreated. HAT primarily affects people living in rural sub-Saharan Africa, often in regions afflicted by violent conflict. Screening and treatment of HAT is complex and resource-intensive, and especially difficult in insecure, resource-constrained settings.