Associations between prenatal exposure to DDT and DDE and allergy symptoms and diagnoses in the Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies and their Environment (VHEMBE), South Africa.

Dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT) is an organochlorine insecticide that is banned internationally except for use as part of Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) programs to control malaria. Although animal studies show that DDT and its breakdown product dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethylene (DDE) affect the immune system and may cause allergies, no studies have examined this question in populations where IRS is conducted. The aim of our study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to DDT and DDE is associated with allergy symptoms and diagnose among South African children living in an area where IRS is conducted.

Exposure to lead and vaccine-specific IgG titers in South African children participating in the Venda Health Examination of Mothers, Babies and their Environment (VHEMBE): A longitudinal study.

Background: While successes have been achieved in reducing global exposure to lead, few studies have investigated the potential health effects of low-level exposure (e.g. blood lead levels [BLLs] below the CDC reference level of 5 μg/dL), particularly among children from low- and middle-income countries.

A protocol to count Cryptosporidium oocysts by flow cytometry without antibody staining.

Cryptosporidiosis caused by the protozoan parasites Cryptosporidium hominis and C. parvum, threatens the lives of young children in developing countries. In veterinary medicine, C.

Oleylphosphocholine (OlPC) arrests Cryptosporidium parvum growth in vitro and prevents lethal infection in interferon gamma receptor knock-out mice.

Cryptosporidium parvum is a species of protozoa that causes cryptosporidiosis, an intestinal disease affecting many mammals including humans. Typically, in healthy individuals, cryptosporidiosis is a self-limiting disease. However, C.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors potentiate vesicular stomatitis virus oncolysis in prostate cancer cells by modulating NF-κB-dependent autophagy.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is an oncolytic virus that induces cancer cell death through activation of the apoptotic pathway. Intrinsic resistance to oncolysis is found in some cell lines and many primary tumors as a consequence of residual innate immunity to VSV. In resistant-tumor models, VSV oncolytic potential can be reversibly stimulated by combination with epigenetic modulators, such as the histone deacetylase inhibitor vorinostat.

In vitro inhibition of mumps virus by retinoids.

Background: Mumps virus (MuV) is a highly infectious paramyxovirus closely related to measles virus (MeV). Despite the availability of a mumps vaccine, outbreaks continue to occur and no treatment options are available. Vitamin A and other naturally occurring retinoids inhibit the replication of MeV in vitro.