This is a prospective non-comparative experimental study aimed to investigate the presence of microsporidia in household pipe water of microsporidial keratitis (MK) patients and to describe the patients' characteristics and behavioral risk factors. This study was conducted at Walailak University Hospital, Thailand, from July 2022 to February 2024. Patients diagnosed with MK were surveyed using a questionnaire to assess personal behaviors and source of household water.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPresently, there is increasing public consciousness regarding the contamination and detection of microplastics (MPs) within the human body, and studies on the detection and characterization of MPs in human breast milk are limited. This study aims to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of MPs found in human breast milk and examine the relationship between maternal hygiene practices, complications that may arise during breastfeeding, and the composition of the bacterial microbiota. Postpartum breast milk was analyzed for MPs using Raman micro-spectroscopy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Endothelial cells (ECs) play a major role in malaria pathogenesis, as a point of direct contact of parasitized red blood cells to the blood vessel wall. The study of cytoskeleton structures of ECs, whose main functions are to maintain shape and provide strength to the EC membrane is important in determining the severe sequelae of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The work investigated the cytoskeletal changes (microfilaments-actin, microtubules-tubulin and intermediate filaments-vimentin) in ECs induced by malaria sera (Plasmodium vivax, uncomplicated P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Kheaw Hom remedy is a traditional Thai medicine used to treat fever. Some plants used in the Kheaw Hom remedy show promising in vitro antimalarial activity. This study prepared novel formulations of plants from the Kheaw Hom remedy and evaluated their antimalarial and toxicological activities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Drug resistance exists in almost all antimalarial drugs currently in use, leading to an urgent need to identify new antimalarial drugs. Medicinal plant use is an alternative approach to antimalarial chemotherapy. This study aimed to explore potent medicinal plants from Prabchompoothaweep remedy for antimalarial drug development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Kheaw Hom remedy is a traditional Thai medicine widely used to treat fevers. Some plant ingredients in this remedy have been investigated for their antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, there have been no reports on the antimalarial activities of the medicinal plants in this remedy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Aging is closely associated to several deleterious conditions and cognitive impairment. Administration of low-dose paracetamol (APAP) has previously been reported to improve cognitive performance in both human and animal studies. However, the altered cognitive effects of low-dose APAP treatment in the aging brain have not been elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The emergence of antimalarial drug resistance encourages the search for new antimalarial agents. Mammea siamensis belongs to the Calophyllaceae family, which is a medicinal plant that is used in traditional Thai preparations. The hexane and dichloromethane extracts of this plant were found to have potent antimalarial activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDecreased serum sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) has been reported in severe malaria patients, but the expression of receptors and enzymes associated with S1P has not been investigated in the liver of malaria patients. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the expression of sphingosine kinase (SphK) and S1P receptors (S1PRs) in the liver of malaria-infected mice. C57BL/6 male mice were divided into a control group (n = 10) and a Plasmodium berghei (PbA)-infected group (n = 10).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In response to the persistent problem of malaria resistance, medicinal herbal plants can be used as a source of potential novel antimalarial agents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo antimalarial activity and toxicity of an ethanolic seed extract of Spondias pinnata (L.f.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe increasing resistance of parasites to antimalarial drugs and the limited number of effective drugs are the greatest challenges in the treatment of malaria. It is necessary to search for an alternative medicine for use as a new, more effective antimalarial drug. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the antimalarial activity and cytotoxicity of extracts from plants belonging to the Asteraceae and Rubiaceae families.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe DNA-binding protein high mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1) mediates proinflammatory cytokines that contribute to acute lung injury (ALI). Although ALI is a frequent complication of malaria infection, the contribution of HMGB-1 and its receptors to the pathogenesis of malaria-associated ALI/acute respiratory distress syndrome (MA-ALI/ARDS) has not been investigated in a mouse model. Here, the malaria-infected mice were divided into two groups according to lung injury score: the ALI/ARDS and non-ALI/ARDS groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: We aimed to determine whether neutralizing high mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1) prevents the release of HMGB-1 and proinflammatory cytokines on hemozoin (Hz)-induced alveolar epithelial cell in a model of malaria associated ALI/ARDS.
Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Tropical Pathology, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand in 2020. Human pulmonary alveolar epithelial cells (HPAEpiCs) were exposed to medium alone or 20 μM Hz for 24 h and incubated with different concentrations (1, 5, and 10 μg/ml) of anti-HMGB-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) for various times (0, 4, 12, 24, and 48 h).
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med
July 2021
Objective: To investigate the antimalarial effects and toxicity of the extracts of the flowers of L. and the leaves of (L.) Gaertn.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExuberant inflammation manifesting as a "cytokine storm" has been suggested as a central feature in the pathogenesis of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study investigated two prognostic biomarkers, the high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), in patients with severe COVID-19 at the time of admission in the intensive care unit (ICU). Of 60 ICU patients with COVID-19 enrolled and analyzed in this prospective cohort study, 48 patients (80%) were alive at ICU discharge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvid Based Complement Alternat Med
November 2019
The resistance of malaria parasites to the current antimalarial drugs has led to the search for novel effective drugs. has been traditionally used for the treatment of malaria, but the scientific evidence to substantiate this claim is still lacking. Therefore, the present study aimed at evaluating the antimalarial activity and toxicity of an aqueous stem extract of in a mouse model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSurfactant protein D (SP-D) is in the collectin family of C-type lectins and plays an important role in the regulation of inflammation and the innate immune defense against pathogens. This protein has been proposed as a biomarker for acute lung injury. However, the expression of SP-D in the lung and the circulating levels of SP-D during malaria infection have received limited attention.
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