Search results for "malaria"
showing 10 items of 169 documents
Early Plasmodium-induced inflammation does not accelerate aging in mice
2019
10 pages; International audience; Aging is associated with a decline of performance leading to reduced reproductive output and survival. While the antagonistic pleiotropy theory of aging has attracted considerable attention, the molecular/physiological functions underlying the early-life benefits/late-life costs paradigm remain elusive. We tested the hypothesis that while early activation of the inflammatory response confers benefits in terms of protection against infection, it also incurs costs in terms of reduced reproductive output at old age and shortened longevity. We infected mice with the malaria parasite Plasmodium yoelii and increased the inflammatory response using an anti-IL-10 r…
El pensament etiològic microbià i el paludisme (1880-1900)
2001
S'estudia l'evolució etiològica sobre el paludisme des de 1880 a 1990. Els vint anys estudiats permeten comprovar que la teoria miasmàtica que interpretava l'origen del paludisme va deixar pas a l'explicació microbiana causal sense a penes un altre canvi que la identificació del miasma palúdic amb l'hematozou de Laveran. Només el descobriment del mosquit anòfel com a vector de transmissió del paràsit va fer que se substituís la via respiratòria per la inoculació cutània com a mecanisme d'infecció. L’aire dels pantans no era ja el perjudicial, sinó les seues aigües estancades, el lloc on es criaven les larves dels mosquits, l'eliminació dels quals va convertir-se en el centre de la lluita an…
¿Pueden la malaria y el dengue reaparecer en España? Could malaria and dengue reappear in Spain?
2010
El aumento de la inmigración durante los últimos años en España ha facilitado la importación de numerosas enfermedades tropicales. Entre ellas, las de transmisión vectorial son algunas de las más complicadas de estudiar por la complejidad que conlleva la participación de diversos hospedadores en los ciclos de transmisión, así como por la necesidad de conocer todos los parámetros fisiológicos, bioecológicos y biogeográficos relacionados con el organismo vector para poder inferir las posibilidades reales de la emergencia o la reemergencia de las enfermedades pertinentes. En estas circunstancias, el presente trabajo aporta información acerca de enfermedades importadas de incuestionable interés…
Social interactions modulate the virulence of avian malaria infection
2013
There is an increasing understanding of the context-dependent nature of parasite virulence. Variation in parasite virulence can occur when infected individuals compete with conspecifics that vary in infection status; virulence may be higher when competing with uninfected competitors. In vertebrates with social hierarchies, we propose that these competition-mediated costs of infection may also vary with social status. Dominant individuals have greater competitive ability than competing subordinates, and consequently may pay a lower prevalence-mediated cost of infection. In this study we investigated whether costs of malarial infection were affected by the occurrence of the parasite in compet…
Risk estimation for air travel-induced malaria transmission in central Europe – A mathematical modelling study
2019
Abstract Background Aim of our study was to identify conditions under which malaria transmission caused by imported infectious mosquitoes or travellers could occur at large central European airports, and if such transmission could be sustained by indigenous mosquitoes. Methods We developed a deterministic and a stochastic compartmental Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered-Susceptible (humans)/Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious (mosquitoes) model with two mosquito (imported Anopheles gambiae, indigenous A. plumbeus) and three human (travellers, airport personnel exposed/not exposed to imported A. gambiae) populations. We assessed various scenarios to identify combinations of model parameters…
Fatal delayed diagnosis in a patient with Falciparum malaria.
2004
This is a classical case of blackwater fever which is one of the most serious hematologic complications of falciparum malaria. The clinical manifestations of this acute intravascular hemolityc anemia are fulminating and delayed diagnosis is an important cause of mortality.
Molecular interaction of artemisinin with translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) of Plasmodium falciparum
2012
Malaria causes millions of death cases per year. Since Plasmodium falciparum rapidly develops drug resistance, it is of high importance to investigate potential drug targets which may lead to novel rational therapy approaches. Here we report on the interaction of translationally controlled tumor protein of P. falciparum (PfTCTP) with the anti-malarial drug artemisinin. Furthermore, we investigated the crystal structure of PfTCTP. Using mass spectrometry, bioinformatic approaches and surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, we identified novel binding sites of artemisinin which are in direct neighborhood to amino acids 19-46, 108-134 and 140-163. The regions covered by these residues are know…
Hyperpigmentation of hard palate induced by chloroquine therapy
2017
The antimalarials are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for conditions such as lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and the side effects, though infrequent, are well known. The antimalarial agent chloroquine diphosphate usually causes pigmentary changes in the oral mucosa characterized by a bluish-grey to black discolorations mainly in the hard palate. Considering only the hard palate hyperpigmentation caused by chloroquine, to the best of our knowledge, only 13 cases have been reported in the English language literature. We described an additional case of palate hyperpigmentation related to the chronic use of chloroquine diphosphate in a 60-year-old Mexican woman. Although…
Artemisinin–Second Career as Anticancer Drug?
2015
Artemisinin represents a showcase example not only for the activity of medicinal herbs deriving from traditional chinese medicine, but for phytotherapy in general. Its isolation from Sweet Wormwood (qinhao, Artemisia annua L.) represents the starting point for an unprecedent success story in the treatment of malaria worldwide. Beyond the therapeutic value against Plasmodium parasites, it turned out in recent years that the bioactivity of artemisinin is not restricted to malaria. We and others found that this sesquiterpenoid also exerts profound anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. Artemisinin-type drugs exert multi-factorial cellular and molecular actions in cancer cells. Ferrous iron …
Mbandakamine-Type Naphthylisoquinoline Dimers and Related Alkaloids from the Central African Liana Ancistrocladus ealaensis with Antiparasitic and An…
2018
Four new dimeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids, michellamine A5 (2) and mbandakamines C–E (4–6), were isolated from the Congolese plant Ancistrocladus ealaensis, along with the known dimer mbandakamine A (3). They represent constitutionally unsymmetric dimers, each consisting of two 5,8′-coupled naphthylisoquinoline monomers. While the molecular halves of michellamine A5 (2) are linked via C-6′ of both of the naphthalene moieties, i.e., via the least-hindered positions, so that the central biaryl axis is configurationally unstable and not an additional element of chirality, the mbandakamines 3–6 possess three consecutive stereogenic axes. Their monomeric units are linked through an unprece…