Over the years, vaccinations have provided significant advances in public health, because they substantially reduce the morbimortality of vaccine-preventable diseases. Nevertheless, many people are still hesitant to be vaccinated. Brazil is a region of many anti-vaccine movements, and several outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as yellow fever and measles, have occurred in the country during the last few years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFungal infections are becoming a serious problem of human diseases, being one of the most important fungal pathogens the yeast of the genus . So far, fungal infection treatment faces different challenges, including the limited number of therapeutic drugs. Scorpions are known to be a valuable source of biologically active molecules, especially of peptide-derived molecules with a variety of biological effects and useful, lead compounds for drugs development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis
December 2020
Background: Snakebite envenoming can be a life-threatening condition, for which emergency care is essential. The (lancehead) genus is responsible for most snakebite-related deaths and permanent loss of function in human victims in Latin America. spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFScorpionism is responsible for most accidents involving venomous animals in Brazil, which leads to severe symptoms that can evolve to death. Scorpion venoms consist of complexes cocktails, including peptides, proteins, and non-protein compounds, making separation and purification procedures extremely difficult and time-consuming. Scorpion toxins target different biological systems and can be used in basic science, for clinical, and biotechnological applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis
April 2019
Scorpion venoms are natural sources of molecules that have, in addition to their toxic function, potential therapeutic applications. In this source the neurotoxins can be found especially those that act on potassium channels. Potassium channels are responsible for maintaining the membrane potential in the excitable cells, especially the voltage-dependent potassium channels (Kv), including Kv1.
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