Publications by authors named "Upninder Kaur"

Background & objectives The emergence of drug resistance in leishmaniasis has remained a concern. Even new drugs have been found to be less effective within a few years of their use. Coupled with their related side effects and cost-effectiveness, this has prompted the search for alternative therapeutic options.

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Chloroquine is still used as a first-line treatment for uncomplicated Plasmodium vivax malaria in India and resistance to this therapy can act as a major hurdle for malaria elimination. It is difficult to monitor drug-efficacy and drug resistance through in vivo and in vitro studies in case of Plasmodium vivax so analysis of molecular markers serves as an important tool to track resistance. Molecular methods that are currently in use for detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms in resistant genes including Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Realtime-Polymerase chain reaction require highly sophisticated labs and are time consuming.

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  • * A study involving 104 patients assessed how the immune response affects the effectiveness of AHD therapy by measuring cytokine levels in blood samples before and after treatment.
  • * Results showed that responders to treatment had lower IL-10 and IL-6 levels after AHD, while non-responders had higher levels, suggesting that these cytokines may play a role in the treatment's success.
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Antibacterial photodynamic therapy (APDT) has received increased attention as a treatment for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections caused by antibiotic abuse. However, photosensitizers used in APDT have disadvantages such as water insolubility, self-aggregation, and photobleaching. To address these limitations, metal complexes have been explored.

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  • Taenia solium is a tapeworm that mainly affects people in Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa, causing a disease called neurocysticercosis (NCC) that can lead to epilepsy and neurological issues.
  • The study involved 141 patients diagnosed with NCC and 98 control subjects, examining plasma and urine samples to improve diagnostics, particularly in low-income regions where imaging resources are limited.
  • Results showed a significant presence of the T. solium gene in patients (74.4% in plasma and 67.3% in urine), highlighting the effectiveness of new methods like RT-LAMP for detecting NCC and suggesting these methods are more cost-effective and simpler for widespread use.
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Among the parasitic diseases, amoebic liver abscess (ALA) ranks second to malaria in terms of mortality. Due to the poor sensitivity of conventional diagnostic methods, there is a need for the development of effective and rapid diagnostic methods for ALA. Thus, the purpose of this work was to develop a real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay specific to Entamoeba histolytica.

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Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by the infective bite of female Phlebotomine sandflies. Treatment of leishmaniasis by conventional synthetic compounds is met by challenges pertaining to adverse effects which call for the discovery of newer anti-leishmanial molecules. This study was performed to evaluate the effect and modes of action of a sesquiterpene alcoholic molecule Farnesol on Leishmania major, the causative agent of Zoonotic CL.

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  • Neuropsychiatric disorders, ranging from mild cognitive impairment to severe psychosis, can be linked to certain parasitic infections that affect the central nervous system.
  • Certain parasites like those causing neuro-cysticercosis and toxoplasmosis can lead to neurological damage through various mechanisms, including lesions and inflammation.
  • Effective diagnosis and treatment of these infections is crucial, particularly in endemic regions, and requires a thorough approach using various testing methods to improve patient outcomes.
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Background: Neurocysticercosis is a common cerebral parasitic infestation, caused due to pork tapeworm infection the infestations risks parallels the socio-economic status, personal hygiene and education. The effect of NCC was assessed in neurocognition.

Objective: To study demographic characteristics and neurocognitive domains of patients with Neurocysticercosis.

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  • The study aimed to genetically analyze Giardia isolates from patients in the Chandigarh region of India using nested PCR targeting the GLUD1 gene.
  • Out of 40 tested samples, the GLUD1 gene was amplified in 33, with successful sequencing in 32.
  • Most isolates belonged to assemblage B (84.37%), primarily of subtype BIII, suggesting that genotyping can aid epidemiological studies of Giardia.
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Entamoeba histolytica infection is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in the form of intestinal and extraintestinal amoebiasis. No vaccine is yet available for amoebiasis. Heparan Sulphate Binding Proteins (HSBPs) from E.

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Adherence of pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica trophozoites mediated by Gal/GalNAc lectin is a prerequisite for killing naïve T cells and monocytes but the activated T cells and monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs) not only resist the attack but can kill the parasite. In the present study, we have analysed the adherence and cytotoxicity of the immunecompetent cells from patients of amoebic liver abscess at the time of their diagnosis and after 3 months to elucidate the development of cell mediated cytotoxicity, a major mechanism of resistance to amoebic infection. The results show that CD3+ cells from amoebic liver abscess cases, when stimulated, in vitro, bound E.

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