Discovery of enzyme in the sleeping sickness parasite streamlines drug development
The single-celled parasite causing African sleeping sickness has a defense mechanism against potential pharmaceuticals under development against the disease, new research indicates. The deadly parasite has an enzyme that can cleave and hence disarm adenosine analogue pharmaceuticals. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - April 18, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news

Discovery of enzyme in the sleeping sickness parasite streamlines drug development
(Umea University) Researchers from Umeå University in Sweden have discovered that the single-celled parasite causing African sleeping sickness has a defense mechanism against potential pharmaceuticals under development against the disease. The deadly parasite has an enzyme that can cleave and hence disarm adenosine analogue pharmaceuticals. This according to a study recently published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - April 18, 2016 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Nitric oxide protects against parasite invasion and brain inflammation by keeping the blood brain barrier intact
(PLOS) African trypanosomiasis is called 'sleeping sickness' because when the infection is untreated, trypanosome parasites will invade the brain and cause disruption of sleeping patterns and irreversible neurological damage. A study published on Feb. 25 in PLOS Pathogens reports that in a mouse model of trypanosome disease, nitric oxide plays an unexpected role in preserving the integrity of the blood brain barrier, thereby reducing parasite invasion into the brain, and likely limiting neurological damage. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - February 25, 2016 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Scientists 'artificially evolve' sleeping sickness bacterium
Scientists are trying to artificially evolve a bacterium linked to the spread of deadly sleeping sickness, African Trypanosomiasis. They aim to better understand the genomics of Sodalis glossinidius, a bacteria which, when present in the gut, allows the Tsetse fly to become a carrier of the parasitic disease. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - January 19, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news

Rapid 'dipstick' test tackles fatal sleeping sickness
(Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council) Scientists have developed a quick and simple diagnosis method, similar to a dipstick pregnancy test, to fight a deadly sleeping sickness. The test to diagnose Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) just requires a pin-prick blood sample and will remove the need to take complex equipment into remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - December 15, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

African sleeping sickness: Study suggests new way to help the immune system fight off parasite
African sleeping sickness, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei, is transmitted by the tsetse fly and is fatal if left untreated. New research reveals a method to manipulate trypanosomes in the mammalian bloodstream to acquire fly stage characteristics. The findings suggest that inhibiting specific proteins can 'trick' the parasite into differentiating to a different stage of its lifecycle. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - December 8, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news

Study suggests new way to help the immune system fight off sleeping sickness parasite
There are currently few treatments for the disease, and those that exist have substantial side effects. A new study reveals a method, involving epigenetic mechanisms, that causes the African sleeping sickness parasite to change into a new state, potentially making it easier for the host immune system to eliminate it. More » (Source: The Rockefeller University Newswire)
Source: The Rockefeller University Newswire - December 8, 2015 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: pubaff Tags: Science News African sleeping sickness chromatin F. Nina Papavasiliou Günter Blobel immunology Laboratory of Lymphocyte Biology parasitic infection small-molecule inhibitors Virology and Microbiology Source Type: news

Study suggests new way to help the immune system fight off sleeping sickness parasite
(Rockefeller University) There are currently few treatments for African sleeping sickness, and those that exist have substantial side effects. A new study reveals a method, involving epigenetic mechanisms, that causes the African sleeping sickness parasite to change into a state that potentially makes it easier for the host immune system to eliminate. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - December 8, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

To survive, a parasite mixes and matches its disguises, study suggests
A detailed look at the African sleeping sickness parasite’s strategy for evading its hosts’ immune systems revealed that the blood parasites assume a surprising diversity of protein coat disguises. In fact, the number of disguises necessary to maintain a long-term infection appears to exceed the functional genes that encode them. More » (Source: The Rockefeller University Newswire)
Source: The Rockefeller University Newswire - March 26, 2015 Category: Biomedical Science Authors: pubaff Tags: Science News antigenic variation F. Nina Papavasiliou George Cross Laboratory of Lymphocyte Biology Monical Mugnier parasitic infection sleeping sickness Trypanosoma brucei VSG Source Type: news

8 Rare 'House, M.D.' Cases That Can Actually Happen (And How To Avoid Them)
"House, M.D.," starring Hugh Laurie as a pill-popping genius, was conceived as the medical version of "Sherlock Holmes" and ran for eight seasons on Fox. Sunday, Nov. 16, marked the 10-year anniversary of the premiere. Though it's easy to look back on the show and focus on some of the unbelievable details of the cases, it might surprise you to learn that "House" was actually much more realistic than you thought. Yeah, the odds of all these rare medical cases coming to one hospital in New Jersey are pretty slim, but a variety of sources -- including Andrew Holtz, former CNN Medical Correspondent and author of Medical Scien...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - November 17, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news

New hope for drug discovery in African sleeping sickness
African sleeping sickness, the neglected trop­ical dis­ease, affects tens of thou­sands of people and is mostly fatal. Now, new research has iden­ti­fied hun­dreds of chem­ical com­pounds that could lead to a cure. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - October 25, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news

New hope for drug discovery in African sleeping sickness
(Northeastern University) The neglected trop­ical dis­ease affects tens of thou­sands of people and is mostly fatal. Now, new research co-​​authored by North­eastern chem­istry pro­fessor Michael Pol­lastri has iden­ti­fied hun­dreds of chem­ical com­pounds that could lead to a cure. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - October 24, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Eradicating fatal sleeping sickness by killing off the tsetse fly
A professor of biology has lent his expertise in understanding insect movement to help shape a UN-sanctioned eradication effort of the tsetse fly -- a creature that passes the fatal African sleeping sickness to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. The tsetse fly is the main vector for Human African Trypanosomiasis (aka sleeping sickness), and spreads the disease by biting humans or animals. The disease affects the central nervous system and is fatal if untreated. For some forms of the disease, victims can reach the terminal stage before symptoms even start to show. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - July 17, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news

Eradicating fatal sleeping sickness by killing off the tsetse fly
(Brigham Young University) Steven L. Peck, a BYU professor of biology, has lent his expertise in understanding insect movement to help shape a UN-sanctioned eradication effort of the tsetse fly -- a creature that passes the fatal African sleeping sickness to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife.Results of the effort appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - July 17, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Africa: Genome Breakthrough Could Help Fight Against Sleeping Sickness
[IRIN]Kisumu/Nairobi -Scientists have welcomed the development of genome sequence data on the tsetse fly, the vector responsible for the transmission of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness. They say it could be instrumental in devising strategies to eradicate the fly and reduce deaths and the spread of other diseases associated with it. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - May 29, 2014 Category: African Health Source Type: news