Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 25 in total

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  1. Alharazi TH, Haouas N, Al-Mekhlafi HM
    BMC Infect Dis, 2021 Mar 17;21(1):269.
    PMID: 33731042 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-05965-4
    BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), a neglected tropical disease, represents a significant public health problem in many endemic countries including Yemen. The ongoing armed conflict that started in March 2015 has had a negative impact on the entire healthcare system as well as on infectious disease control programmes. Therefore, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess knowledge and attitude towards CL among rural endemic communities in southwestern Yemen.

    METHODS: Five hundred households in five areas of Shara'b district of Taiz governorate were randomly selected to participate in a quantitative survey. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, their knowledge and attitude towards CL and their knowledge on the sand fly vector.

    RESULTS: The analysis was conducted on a final sample of 466 individuals (62.7% males and 37.3% females) aged between 18 and 70 years. Among the participants, 21.5% were non-educated while 39.7 and 20.8% had completed secondary school and tertiary education, respectively. Although the participants were aware of CL, about three quarters (77.7%) of them had poor overall knowledge about disease transmission, clinical presentation, treatment, and prevention. Interestingly, approximately half of the participants (49.1%) were able to differentiate sand flies from other flies and mosquitoes. However, only 14.8% of the participants knew about the role of the phlebotomine sand fly in the transmission of CL. Only 36.6% believed that CL can be prevented and 49.6% had a negative attitude towards the disease. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that age and gender were the significant determinants of knowledge about CL and the sand fly vector among the studied population.

    CONCLUSION: A poor level of knowledge about the different epidemiological aspects of CL was found among rural CL-endemic communities in Taiz. This factor, together with the major collapse of the healthcare infrastructure due to the ongoing civil war in Yemen, may be contributing to the continued endemicity of CL in the governorate. It is therefore recommended that health education on CL transmission and prevention should be provided to the targeted communities.

    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/epidemiology*; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/prevention & control; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/transmission
  2. Mogana R, Adhikari A, Debnath S, Hazra S, Hazra B, Teng-Jin K, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2014;2014:903529.
    PMID: 24949478 DOI: 10.1155/2014/903529
    In continuation of our natural and medicinal research programme on tropical rainforest plants, a bioassay guided fractionation of ethanolic extract of leaves of Canarium patentinervium Miq. (Burseraceae Kunth.) led to the isolation of scopoletin (1), scoparone (2), (+)-catechin (3), vomifoliol (4), lioxin (5), and syringic acid (6). All the compounds exhibited antiacetylcholinesterase activity with syringic acid, a phenolic acid exhibiting good AChE inhibition (IC50 29.53 ± 0.19 μ g/mL). All compounds displayed moderate antileishmanial activity with scopoletin having the highest antileishmanial activity (IC50 163.30 ± 0.32 μ g/mL). Given the aforementioned evidence, it is tempting to speculate that Canarium patentinervium Miq. represents an exciting scaffold from which to develop leads for treatment of neurodegenerative and parasitic diseases.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis/drug therapy; Leishmaniasis/parasitology
  3. Taha M, Ismail NH, Ali M, Rashid U, Imran S, Uddin N, et al.
    Bioorg Chem, 2017 04;71:192-200.
    PMID: 28228228 DOI: 10.1016/j.bioorg.2017.02.005
    The high potential of quinoline containing natural products and their derivatives in medicinal chemistry led us to discover a novel series of compounds 6-23 based on the concept of molecular hybridization. Most of the synthesized analogues exhibited potent leishmanicidal potential. The most potent compound (23, IC50=0.10±0.001μM) among the series was found ∼70 times more lethal than the standard drug. The current series 6-23 conceded in the development of fourteen (14) extraordinarily active compounds against leishmaniasis. In silico analysis were also performed to probe the mode of action while all the compounds structure were established by NMR and Mass spectral analysis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis/drug therapy
  4. Khan W, Khan I, Ullah H, Zain SNM, Panhwar WA, Mehmood SA, et al.
    Braz J Biol, 2021;82:e238665.
    PMID: 33787717 DOI: 10.1590/1519-6984.238665
    Malakand region is an endemic area for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). However, there are limited number of studies of this disease in Pakistan. Therefore, a study was conducted to understand the level of awareness attitude and practice among the residents of Makaland towards CL and the disease vectors. This study adopted a cross-sectional approach with a total of 400 respondents (n=93 rural and n= 307 urban). Overall, the population in Malakand region (61.2%) were well-informed in the role of sand fly in transmitting diseases, but most lack knowledge on the vector's behavior and almost a quarter (24.5%) were unable to provide knowledge on proper control measures. Alarmingly, the practice and attitudes of the general population was not satisfactory as close to half (49.8%) of the population did adopt any control method. This study calls for increase in awareness through health education campaign to reduce the risk of cutaneous leishmaniasis outbreaks in the future.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous
  5. Louizi C, Khan MAA, Faisal K, Chowdhury R, Ghosh P, Hossain F, et al.
    Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis, 2023 Feb;105(2):115862.
    PMID: 36493571 DOI: 10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2022.115862
    The spread of vector habitats along with increasing human mobility can introduce atypical Leishmania species and hence can challenge existing diagnostic practices for rapid detection of active infection with species outside the narrow target range. Here we assessed the pan-Leishmania detection ability of isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays targeting 18S rRNA gene, cathepsin L-like cysteine proteinase B (Cpb) gene, and kinetoplast minicircle DNA (kDNA) regions. While the lowest limit of detection of the 18S rRNA-RPA and Cpb-RPA assays were estimated as 12 and 17 standard DNA molecules, respectively, both assays could amplify genomic DNA of 7 pathogenic Leishmania species. Evaluation of 18S rRNA-RPA and our previously developed kDNA-RPA assays on 70 real-time PCR-positive leishmaniasis samples of varying pathologies resulted in sensitivity rates of 35.71% and 88.57%, respectively, while the combined sensitivity was 98.57%. Combinatorial application of 18S rRNA-RPA and kDNA-RPA assays can be recommended for further diagnostic assessments.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis/diagnosis
  6. Mollataghi A, Coudiere E, Hadi AH, Mukhtar MR, Awang K, Litaudon M, et al.
    Fitoterapia, 2012 Mar;83(2):298-302.
    PMID: 22119096 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2011.11.009
    Phytochemical investigation of Beilschmiedia alloiophylla has resulted in the isolation of one new alkaloid, 2-hydroxy-9-methoxyaporphine (1), and ten known natural products, laurotetanine (2), liriodenine (3), boldine (4), secoboldine (5), isoboldine (6), asimilobine (7), oreobeiline (8), 6-epioreobeiline (9), β-amyrone (10), and (S)-3-methoxynordomesticine (11). Chemical studies on the bark of B. kunstleri afforded compounds 2 and 4 along with one bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid, N-dimethylphyllocryptine (12). Structures of compounds 1-12 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. All of these isolates were evaluated for their anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE), anti-α-glucosidase, anti-leishmanial and anti-fungal activities. Compounds 1-12 exhibited strong to moderate bioactivities in aforementioned bioassays.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis/parasitology
  7. Zurainee MN, Khairul Anuar A, Khatijah O, Sri Suriati A, Noraishah S
    JUMMEC, 1998;3:63-63.
    We describe the results of serology for parasitic infection of 250 foreign workers who were seen at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, UMMC during 7-months period. The 250 foreign workers participated included 114 from Indonesia, 142 from Bangladesh, two from Myanmar and two from Pakistan. Blood samples were taken from these workers and eight tests (amoebiasis, echinococcosis, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, toxoplasmosis, and trypanosomiasis) were performed on serum. Among the 250 sera tested, 92 (36.8%) were found to be positive for at least one parasitic infection. There was one case where the serum was found positive for 5 tests. The most common antibody detected in those positive sera was antibody for toxoplasma (80.%), followed by filaria (32.8%) and amoeba (30%). Other tests showed low percentage of infection with schistosomiasias, 10%; echinococcosis, 6% and malaria, 3.6%. None of the foreign workers were found positive for leishmaniasis or trypanosomiasias.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis
  8. Kamarulzaman A, Khairul Anuar A
    JUMMEC, 1998;3:62-62.
    We report a case of visceral leishmaniasis (kala azar) in a 28 year old Bangladeshi migrant. The patient had migrated to Malaysia 9 months prior to admission to our hospital. He was employed in a glove factory. His illness began one week prior to presentation with high swinging fever, chest pain and substantial weight loss. On examination, he was found to be cachetic, with cervical and inguinal lymphadenopathy and niassive hepatosplenomegaly. Investigations revealed a pancytopaenia with a Hb of 9.9 g/L, WBC 3.10 x 10^9/L and a platelet count of 29 x 10g/L. Liver function test revealed an elevated alkaline phosphatase 380 I.U./L and transanlinases AST 169 I.U/L and ALT 95 I.U./L. The serum albumin was 19 g/L. Blood for malaria parasite was negative. A bone marrow examination was performed to look for LD bodies and to exclude haematological malignancies. The bone marrow examination revealed multiple LD bodies. Serology for leishmania was strongly positive. The patient was heated with atnphotericin B to a total dose of 0.6 g. There was resolution of his fever and reduction in the size of the liver and spleen at the end of therapy. There was also a steady gain in his weight. The patient unfortunately failed to return for subsequent follow-ups
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis
  9. Pallister RA
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Visceral
  10. Procházková M, Füzik T, Grybchuk D, Falginella F, Podešvová L, Yurchenko V, et al.
    J Virol, 2020 Nov 18.
    PMID: 33208443 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01957-20
    Leishmania parasites cause a variety of symptoms, including mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, which results in the destruction of the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, and throat. The species of Leishmania carrying Leishmania RNA virus 1 (LRV1), from the family Totiviridae, are more likely to cause severe disease and are less sensitive to treatment than those that do not contain the virus. Although the importance of LRV1 for the severity of leishmaniasis was discovered a long time ago, the structure of the virus remained unknown. Here, we present a cryo-electron microscopy reconstruction of the virus-like particle of LRV1 determined to a resolution of 3.65 Å. The capsid has icosahedral symmetry and is formed by 120 copies of a capsid protein assembled in asymmetric dimers. RNA genomes of viruses from the family Totiviridae are synthetized, but not capped at the 5' end, by virus RNA-polymerases. To protect viral RNAs from degradation, capsid proteins of totivirus L-A cleave the 5' caps of host mRNAs, creating decoys to overload the cellular RNA quality control system. Capsid proteins of LRV1 form positively charged clefts, which may be the cleavage sites for the 5' cap of Leishmania mRNAs. Capsid proteins of LRV1 contain a putative RNA binding site distinct from that of the related L-A virus. The structure of the LRV1 capsid enables the rational design of compounds targeting the putative de-capping site. Such inhibitors may be developed into a treatment for mucocutaneous leishmaniasis caused by LRV1-positive species of LeishmaniaIMPORTANCE Twelve million people worldwide suffer from leishmaniasis, resulting in more than thirty thousand deaths annually. The disease has several variants that differ in their symptoms. The mucocutaneous form, which leads to disintegration of the nasal septum, lips, and palate, is predominantly caused by Leishmania parasites carrying Leishmania RNA virus 1 (LRV1). Here, we present the structure of the LRV1 capsid determined using cryo-electron microscopy. Capsid proteins of a related totivirus L-A protect viral RNAs from degradation by cleaving the 5' caps of host mRNAs. Capsid proteins of LRV1 may have the same function. We show that the LRV1 capsid contains positively charged clefts that may be sites for the cleavage of mRNAs of Leishmania cells. The structure of the LRV1 capsid enables the rational design of compounds targeting the putative mRNA cleavage site. Such inhibitors may be used as treatments for muco-cutaneous leishmaniasis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Mucocutaneous; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous
  11. Nocht PB
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Visceral; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous
  12. Sen NK
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Visceral; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous
  13. Levaique H, Pamlard O, Apel C, Bignon J, Arriola M, Kuhner R, et al.
    Molecules, 2021 Mar 11;26(6).
    PMID: 33799883 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26061551
    Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania found in tropical and sub-tropical areas, affecting 12 million people around the world. Only few treatments are available against this disease and all of them present issues of toxicity and/or resistance. In this context, the development of new antileishmanial drugs specifically directed against a therapeutic target appears to be a promising strategy. The GDP-Mannose Pyrophosphorylase (GDP-MP) has been previously shown to be an attractive therapeutic target in Leishmania. In this study, a chemical library of 5000 compounds was screened on both L. infantum (LiGDP-MP) and human (hGDP-MP) GDP-MPs. From this screening, oncostemonol D was found to be active on both GDP-MPs at the micromolar level. Ten alkyl-resorcinol derivatives, of which oncostemonols E and J (2 and 3) were described for the first time from nature, were then evaluated on both enzymes as well as on L. infantum axenic and intramacrophage amastigotes. From this evaluation, compounds 1 and 3 inhibited both GDP-MPs at the micromolar level, and compound 9 displayed a three-times lower IC50 on LiGDP-MP, at 11 µM, than on hGDP-MP. As they displayed mild activities on the parasite, these compounds need to be further pharmacomodulated in order to improve their affinity and specificity to the target as well as their antileishmanial activity.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis/drug therapy*
  14. Tabasi M, Alesheikh AA, Sofizadeh A, Saeidian B, Pradhan B, AlAmri A
    Parasit Vectors, 2020 Nov 11;13(1):572.
    PMID: 33176858 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04447-x
    BACKGROUND: Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is a neglected tropical disease worldwide, especially the Middle East. Although previous works attempt to model the ZCL spread using various environmental factors, the interactions between vectors (Phlebotomus papatasi), reservoir hosts, humans, and the environment can affect its spread. Considering all of these aspects is not a trivial task.

    METHODS: An agent-based model (ABM) is a relatively new approach that provides a framework for analyzing the heterogeneity of the interactions, along with biological and environmental factors in such complex systems. The objective of this research is to design and develop an ABM that uses Geospatial Information System (GIS) capabilities, biological behaviors of vectors and reservoir hosts, and an improved Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Recovered (SEIR) epidemic model to explore the spread of ZCL. Various scenarios were implemented to analyze the future ZCL spreads in different parts of Maraveh Tappeh County, in the northeast region of Golestan Province in northeastern Iran, with alternative socio-ecological conditions.

    RESULTS: The results confirmed that the spread of the disease arises principally in the desert, low altitude areas, and riverside population centers. The outcomes also showed that the restricting movement of humans reduces the severity of the transmission. Moreover, the spread of ZCL has a particular temporal pattern, since the most prevalent cases occurred in the fall. The evaluation test also showed the similarity between the results and the reported spatiotemporal trends.

    CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the capability and efficiency of ABM to model and predict the spread of ZCL. The results of the presented approach can be considered as a guide for public health management and controlling the vector population .

    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/epidemiology*; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/prevention & control; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/transmission*
  15. Mahdy MA, Al-Mekhlafi HM, Al-Mekhlafi AM, Lim YA, Bin Shuaib NO, Azazy AA, et al.
    PLoS One, 2010 Sep 20;5(9).
    PMID: 20862227 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012879
    BACKGROUND: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease endemic in the tropics and subtropics with a global yearly incidence of 1.5 million. Although CL is the most common form of leishmaniasis, which is responsible for 60% of DALYs lost due to tropical-cluster diseases prevalent in Yemen, available information is very limited.

    METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This study was conducted to determine the molecular characterization of Leishmania species isolated from human cutaneous lesions in Yemen. Dermal scrapes were collected and examined for Leishmania amastigotes using the Giemsa staining technique. Amplification of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer 1(ITS-1) gene was carried out using nested PCR and subsequent sequencing. The sequences from Leishmania isolates were subjected to phylogenetic analysis using the neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony methods. The trees identified Leishmania tropica from 16 isolates which were represented by two sequence types.

    CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The predominance of the anthroponotic species (i.e. L. tropica) indicates the probability of anthroponotic transmission of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Yemen. These findings will help public health authorities to build an effective control strategy taking into consideration person-to-person transmission as the main dynamic of transmission of CL.

    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/epidemiology; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/parasitology*
  16. Mahdy MA, Al-Mekhlafi AM, Abdul-Ghani R, Saif-Ali R, Al-Mekhlafi HM, Al-Eryani SM, et al.
    PLoS One, 2016;11(3):e0151265.
    PMID: 26966902 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151265
    Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a debilitating, often fatal disease caused by Leishmania donovani complex; however, it is a neglected tropical disease. L. donovani complex comprises two closely related species, L. donovani that is mostly anthroponotic and L. infantum that is zoonotic. Differentiation between these two species is critical due to the differences in their epidemiology and pathology. However, they cannot be differentiated morphologically, and their speciation using isoenzyme-based methods poses a difficult task and may be unreliable. Molecular characterization is now the most reliable method to differentiate between them and to determine their phylogenetic relationships. The present study aims to characterize Leishmania species isolated from bone marrows of Yemeni pediatric patients using sequence analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS1) gene. Out of 41 isolates from Giemsa-stained bone marrow smears, 25 isolates were successfully amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction and sequenced in both directions. Phylogenetic analysis using neighbor joining method placed all study isolates in one cluster with L. donovani complex (99% bootstrap). The analysis of ITS1 for microsatellite repeat numbers identified L. infantum in 11 isolates and L. donovani in 14 isolates. These data suggest the possibility of both anthroponotic and zoonotic transmission of VL-causing Leishmania species in Yemen. Exploring the possible animal reservoir hosts is therefore needed for effective control to be achieved.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Visceral/epidemiology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral/parasitology*
  17. Ibrahim F, Thio TH, Faisal T, Neuman M
    Sensors (Basel), 2015 Mar 23;15(3):6947-95.
    PMID: 25806872 DOI: 10.3390/s150306947
    This paper reviews a number of biomedical engineering approaches to help aid in the detection and treatment of tropical diseases such as dengue, malaria, cholera, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis, ebola, leprosy, leishmaniasis, and American trypanosomiasis (Chagas). Many different forms of non-invasive approaches such as ultrasound, echocardiography and electrocardiography, bioelectrical impedance, optical detection, simplified and rapid serological tests such as lab-on-chip and micro-/nano-fluidic platforms and medical support systems such as artificial intelligence clinical support systems are discussed. The paper also reviewed the novel clinical diagnosis and management systems using artificial intelligence and bioelectrical impedance techniques for dengue clinical applications.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis/diagnosis; Leishmaniasis/pathology
  18. Hamidah NH, Cheong SK, Abu Hassan J
    Malays J Pathol, 1995 Jun;17(1):39-41.
    PMID: 8907004
    A 35-year-old man from Bangladesh, who had been in Malaysia for approximately a year, was extensively investigated for more than two months in a state hospital for pyrexia with hepatosplenomegaly. However, no obvious cause of his illness was found. He was treated with multiple antibiotics with no resolution of pyrexia and hepatosplenomegaly. He was later referred to the Haematology Unit, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for further assessment as a case of lymphoma. On carefully reviewing his bone marrow aspirate smears, the diagnosis of leishmaniasis (kala-azar) was finally made. The patient responded to treatment with pentamidine.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Visceral/pathology*
  19. Maspi N, Ghaffarifar F, Sharifi Z, Dalimi A, Khademi SZ
    Malays J Pathol, 2017 Dec;39(3):267-275.
    PMID: 29279589
    Vaccination would be the most important strategy for the prevention and elimination of leishmaniasis. The aim of the present study was to compare the immune responses induced following DNA vaccination with LACK (Leishmania analogue of the receptor kinase C), TSA (Thiol-specific-antioxidant) genes alone or LACK-TSA fusion against cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Cellular and humoral immune responses were evaluated before and after challenge with Leishmania major (L. major). In addition, the mean lesion size was also measured from 3th week post-infection. All immunized mice showed a partial immunity characterized by higher interferon (IFN)-γ and Immunoglobulin G (IgG2a) levels compared to control groups (p<0.05). IFN-γ/ Interleukin (IL)-4 and IgG2a/IgG1 ratios demonstrated the highest IFN-γ and IgG2a levels in the group receiving LACK-TSA fusion. Mean lesion sizes reduced significantly in all immunized mice compared with control groups at 7th week post-infection (p<0.05). In addition, there was a significant reduction in mean lesion size of LACK-TSA and TSA groups than LACK group after challenge (p<0.05). In the present study, DNA immunization promoted Th1 immune response and confirmed the previous observations on immunogenicity of LACK and TSA antigens against CL. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that a bivalent vaccine can induce stronger immune responses and protection against infectious challenge with L. major.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous/immunology*; Leishmaniasis Vaccines/immunology*
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