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Tsetse Flies
Published in Jerome Goddard, Public Health Entomology, 2022
Flies in the genus Glossina are called tsetse flies, which are vectors of several trypanosomes (protozoans) of people and animals. The main disease associated with tsetse flies is human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), caused by subspecies of the protozoan Trypanosoma brucei. A related disease of cattle is called Nagana. Other than the possibility for sleeping sickness transmission, bites by tsetse flies are generally only of minor consequence. However, some individuals may become sensitized to the saliva, leading to welts.
Antiprotozoal Effects of Wild Plants
Published in Mahendra Rai, Shandesh Bhattarai, Chistiane M. Feitosa, Ethnopharmacology of Wild Plants, 2021
Muhammad Subbayyal Akram, Rao Zahid Abbas, José L. Martinez
In genus Trypanosoma, species are flagellated, unicellular and parasitic in nature. Only Trypanosoma cruzi is the third cause of deaths after Plasmodium spp. and schistosomiasis in Latin America. Trypanosomacruzi is transmitted by a bug Triatoma infestans causing Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis (Braz et al. 2016). Approximately 16 to 18 million people are annually infected by T. cruzi around the globe and millions are still at risk of having an infection (WHO 2016).
Giardia lamblia
Published in Peter D. Walzer, Robert M. Genta, Parasitic Infections in the Compromised Host, 2020
Giardia lamblia is a unicellular protozoan parasite that exists in two forms: the dormant cyst, which transmits disease to the host, and the motile flagellated trophozoite, which causes disease. There is no intermediate developmental stage outside the gastrointestinal tract of the host. Unlike other protozoan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii (chapter 4), Leishmania spp., Trypanosoma spp., Malaria spp., or the coccidian protozoan Cryptosporidium (Chapter 5), G. lamblia is an extracellular protozoan. In this respect it resembles Entamoeba histoloytica (Chapter 7).
Metabolomic profile, anti-trypanosomal potential and molecular docking studies of Thunbergia grandifolia
Published in Journal of Enzyme Inhibition and Medicinal Chemistry, 2023
Heba A. S. El-Nashar, Ahmed M. Sayed, Hany A. M. El-Sherief, Mostafa E. Rateb, Lina Akil, Ibrahim Khadra, Taghreed A. Majrashi, Sara T. Al-Rashood, Faizah A. Binjubair, Mahmoud A. El Hassab, Wagdy M. Eldehna, Usama Ramadan Abdelmohsen, Nada M. Mostafa
Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness is a protozoan disease that infects animals and humans transmitted by the bite of Glossina (tsetse) fly carrying Trypanosoma brucei1. Currently, trypanosomiasis affects more than 50 million cattle and 70 million people in sub-Saharan Africa2. The available current medicines record lack of efficiency, resistance, and toxicity, so there is an urgent need for the development of novel, safe, efficacious, cost-effective drugs with new mechanism of action3,4. In African countries where trypanosomiasis is prevalent, natural products (herbal extracts) have traditionally been utilised for centuries and are still extensively used to cure infections and other parasitic diseases5,6. Interestingly, about 30% of the world population has confidence in traditional therapies due to their wide availability and affordability7. Moreover, various drugs like quinine and artemisinin were established as plant-derived potential antiprotozoal agents8.
Emerging compounds and therapeutic strategies to treat infections from Trypanosoma brucei: an overhaul of the last 5-years patents
Published in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents, 2023
Francesco Melfi, Simone Carradori, Cristina Campestre, Entela Haloci, Alessandra Ammazzalorso, Rossella Grande, Ilaria D’Agostino
Despite the efforts in the search for new potent and selective anti-Trypanosoma agents, the presence of a few well-organized health systems in hospitals to host patients severely limits the efficacy of the treatment. The nifurtimox–eflornithine combination therapy (based on nifurtimox three times per day per os for 10 days/eflornithine two times per day intravenously through lumbar puncture for 7 days) can be challenging in low-income countries, which cannot provide high resources to assist patients. After the introduction of the orally available fexinidazole, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative was assisted by Anacor Pharmaceuticals and Scynexis to test the safety and efficacy of a structurally benzoxaborole analogue (acoziborole, 960 mg, per os) in a multicentre, prospective, open-label, single-arm phase II/III study (2016–2019) against the late-stage Tbg HAT. The recently published results proved that a single dose of this drug displayed good tolerability, suitable bioavailability in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, a shorter duration of the treatment, an efficacy of the treatment regimen greater than 95%, and a higher compliance of the patients (≥15 years old) [107]. Other follow-ups in comparison with placebo and NECT are currently ongoing.
Signal peptide peptidase: a potential therapeutic target for parasitic and viral infections
Published in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, 2022
Christopher Schwake, Michael Hyon, Athar H. Chishti
Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas’ disease and Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and gambiense are the etiologic agents of African sleeping sickness (Human African Trypanosomiasis, HAT). Both diseases present high mortality throughout their geographic regions. Chagas’ disease is transmitted by a triatomine vector, known by those in endemic regions as the kissing bug. Worldwide, Chagas’ affects 6 million people mainly in Latin-American countries as well as 300,000 people living in the US [44]. Triatomine bugs have established populations in the Southern United States, some of which are infected with T. cruzi [45]. The extent to which endemic transmission occurs in the US is unknown due to the low incidence of testing and diagnostic assays, but there has been reports of locally acquired Chagas’ disease in the past [46,47]. Disease can progress to a chronic infection resulting in serious heart inflammation and intestinal problems in those afflicted [48]. Chagas’ disease has very few treatment options with only two currently available drugs, benznidazole and nifurtimox. However, both compounds exhibit low efficacy toward the chronic form of the disease and deleterious side effects over a long treatment period can lead to noncompliance [48].