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Parasite Versus Host: Pathology and Disease
Published in Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin, Parasitology, 2023
Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin
Certain parasites can also induce metaplasia. Monogeneans in the genus Dactylogyrus, for instance, adhere to the gill filaments of certain freshwater fish, which can cause soft tissue in the gills to ossify. In humans, infection with Schistosoma haematobium is associated with an increased likelihood of urinary tract metaplasia. Because infection with this digenetic trematode has also been associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer, the onset of metaplasia may be a contributing factor to tumor formation.
Environments of Health and Disease in Tropical Africa before the Colonial Era
Published in Lori Jones, Disease and the Environment in the Medieval and Early Modern Worlds, 2022
Notwithstanding Andrew Cunningham’s (2002) now-classic warning against interpreting past diseases in modern terms, we should examine the symptoms reported by the three traveller-writers. De Gémozac’s brief description of the men’s illness suggests that they suffered from gross haematuria (blood in urine visible to the naked eye). Red-coloured urine and Brun’s mention of blood in the men’s semen – a condition known as haematospermia – are symptoms consistent with a parasitic, mostly non-lethal infection known in modern medical terms as schistosomiasis, and more specifically its urogenital variant.5 People become infected with the parasite while bathing, swimming, or wading in waters infested with larvae of trematode worms (Schistosoma haematobium or S. guineensis in the case of urogenital infection) released by freshwater snails. What we know of its evolutionary history as a human parasite suggests that it was already present in Africa in the pre-modern period and transmitted to tropical America by the slave trade (Noya et al. 2015; Webster et al. 2006).
The Pathology of Human Schistosoma Haematobium Infection
Published in Max J. Miller, E. J. Love, Parasitic Diseases: Treatment and Control, 2020
Schistosomiasis comprises a group of chronic diseases caused by schistosomes, a genus of digenetic parasitic worms which cohabitate the venous plexes of the viscera. Schistosoma haematobium dwells principally in the perivesical venous plexus in humans and causes urinary schistosomiasis (bilharziasis), which is endemic in many parts of Africa and the Middle East, and is now considered a major public health problem.1–6
Modeling the transmission phenomena of water-borne disease with non-singular and non-local kernel
Published in Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 2023
Wejdan Deebani, Rashid Jan, Zahir Shah, Narcisa Vrinceanu, Mihaela Racheriu
It is well-known that schistosomiasis is a parasite illness transmitted by water that affects people as well as other animals including dogs, sheep, buffaloes, cattle and pigs (Kabatereine et al. 2014). It is a zoonotic illness spread by the dioecious schistosoma intravascular resident fluke (Gao et al. 2014; Walz et al. 2015); furthermore, it is a parasitic trematodiasis produced by schistosoma species, among which S. intercalatum and S. mekongi are of local concern while S. haematobium, S. japonicum and S. mansoni are of worldwide public health significance (Ismail et al. 2014). We focus on schistosoma haematobium which is the common schistosoma species in Sub-Saharan Africa and has been related to increased HIV prevalence and cancer development. It is known that urogenital schistosomiasis is caused by S. haematobium and is transmitted by Bulinus snails (Liu et al. 2011). By coming into touch with cercariae-infested freshwater, the parasite is spread to both human and nonhuman animal populations. Cercariae enters the epidermis and changes into an adaptable schistosomula that can evade the immune system of the host. The schistosomula move to the lungs in humans, where it matures and produce eggs (Adenowo et al. 2015). After the hatching of eggs in urine, the miracidia infect amphibious snails after entrance, resulting in the formation of sporocysts. The larval cercariae are then produced asexually by sporocysts (Ismail et al. 2014).
Comet-FISH analysis of urothelial cells. A screening opportunity for bladder cancer?
Published in Expert Review of Molecular Diagnostics, 2023
Sebastiano La Maestra, Mirko Benvenuti, Francesco D’Agostini, Rosanna T. Micale
Due to differences in the reporting of BCa across countries [4], interpreting international incidence patterns is not easy. Nevertheless, there is a 10-fold variation in the reported BCa incidence, with the highest rates in Europe, Northern America, Western Asia, and Northern Africa and the lowest in the rest of Africa [5]. For example, in 2020 in Europe, 203,983 new BCa cases were recorded, resulting in 67,289 deaths. During the same year in North America, there were 89,997 new BCa cases and 21,045 associated deaths [1]. In these areas, the predominant histologic type is urothelial carcinoma. However, in other regions, such as Western Asia and several regions of Africa, endemic to schistosomiasis, both urothelial and non-urothelial histologic types are prevalent [6]. Schistosoma haematobium, a parasite transmitted through contaminated water that causes urinary schistosomiasis, is a well-recognized risk factor. Its eggs are deposited in the bladder wall and induce a chronic inflammatory response, resulting in progressive squamous metaplasia, dysplasia and in some cases, the onset of neoplasia [7].
Optimizing outcomes and managing adverse events in locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer: a clinical pharmacology perspective
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2023
Pratap Singh, Anand Rotte, Anthony A. Golsorkhi, Sandhya Girish
Smoking is the most common risk factor for BC accounting for nearly two-thirds of cases in men and one-third cases in women [9,10]. The risk of bladder cancer has been shown to be approximately 4-fold higher in smokers compared to those who have never smoked before [11], possibly because tobacco carcinogens are eliminated through urine and are likely stored in the bladder along with urine before elimination where they can affect the bladder [10]. Occupational exposure to chemicals used in paints, textiles, plastics, printers and rubber industries such as aromatic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is the second most common risk for BC [9,10]. Infection with Schistosoma haematobium parasite more commonly seen in Africa and Middle East is another risk factor mainly for squamous cell carcinomas (nonurothelial BC) [12]. Inflammation of bladder due to chronic urinary tract infections, chronic use of urinary catheters and bladder stones are also known to be risk factors for BC [10]. Finally, exposure to radiation and/or chemotherapy as part of treatment for other malignancies or autoimmune diseases has also been shown to be a risk factor BC [9,10].