Nigeria: How Nigerian Biochemist Hopes to Stop Spread of Sleeping Sickness
[Guardian] Emmanuel Balogun, a biochemist at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria in Nigeria, has been examining trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, in humans and animals since 2007. Now, he is working to develop drugs to combat the disease. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - May 23, 2019 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Scientists identify a key gene in the transmission of deadly African sleeping sickness
Life scientists from UCLA and the University of Bern have identified a key gene in the transmission of African sleeping sickness — a severe disease transmitted by the bite of infected tsetse flies, which are common in sub-Saharan Africa.The disease is fatal if untreated, as the parasite responsible moves from the bloodstream to the central nervous system. Tens of millions of people in 36 African countries are at risk. There is no vaccine, and conventional drug treatments, which include an arsenic derivative, are antiquated, not very effective and have severe side effects.The research, published in the journal Nature Co...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - April 10, 2019 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news
Researchers engineer a cost-effective treatment for neglected tropical disease
(University of Tokyo) Researchers have turned a fungus into a disease-curing factory through modern genetic engineering and patience. The natural antibiotic is a promising cure for a neglected tropical disease called human African trypanosomiasis, or African sleeping sickness, that infects thousands of people in remote, rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa each year. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - April 4, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
New therapeutic approach to combat African sleeping sickness
(Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz) Scientists working in a range of disciplines joined forces to identify a new approach to combat African sleeping sickness. Fundamental research undertaken under the supervision of Professor Ute Hellmich of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) has revealed a promising strategy to develop a suitable agent. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - February 20, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
Fexinidazole, the first all-oral treatment for sleeping sickness, approved in DRC
(Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative) Fexinidazole will contribute to international efforts to eliminate sleeping sickness, a fatal neglected tropical disease endemic to Africa, by 2020 It is the first all-oral treatment for sleeping sickness, and is effective for both stages of the disease. Democratic Republic of Congo bears the majority of the sleeping sickness disease burden, with around 85 percent of reported cases. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - January 30, 2019 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Sleeping sickness parasite uses multiple metabolic pathways
(PLOS) Parasitic protozoa called trypanosomes synthesize sugars using an unexpected metabolic pathway called gluconeogenesis, according to a study published December 27 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by David Horn of the University of Dundee in the UK, and colleagues. The authors note that this metabolic flexibility may be essential for adaptation to environmental conditions and survival in mammalian host tissues. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - December 27, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
East Africa: And Now, a New Drug for Sleeping Sickness
[East African] Scientists working on Neglected Tropical Diseases have welcomed the approval of a new drug for the treatment of Human African Trypanosomiasis, commonly known as sleeping sickness. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - November 29, 2018 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Decoding sleeping sickness signals could aid quest for treatments
(University of Edinburgh) Scientists have discovered how the parasite that causes sleeping sickness initiates a physical change in order to spread the disease. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - November 29, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Clemson researchers reveal secrets of parasite that causes African sleeping sickness
(Clemson University) A team of Clemson University researchers wants to protect humans and other mammals from the debilitating and even deadly effects of African sleeping sickness. James Morris, a Clemson professor in the College of Science's department of genetics and biochemistry, said that studying the cause of the disease is vital because, although the transmission of African sleeping sickness by tsetse flies has been studied for more than 100 years, the secret to the underlying parasite's success remains largely a mystery. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - November 20, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
EMA Panel Backs First Oral-Only Drug for Deadly Disease EMA Panel Backs First Oral-Only Drug for Deadly Disease
Fexinidazole is for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense in adults and children aged 6 years and older.International Approvals (Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines)
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines - November 16, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Neurology & Neurosurgery News Alert Source Type: news
Global Health: Rapid Cure Approved for Sleeping Sickness, a Horrific Illness
Parasites transmitted by tsetse flies travel to the brain, causing paranoia, fury and death. Until now, killing them required hospitalization and harsh drugs. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - November 16, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: DONALD G. McNEIL Jr. Tags: Sleeping Sickness Parasites Drugs (Pharmaceuticals) Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative Doctors Without Borders Gates, Bill and Melinda, Foundation Sanofi SA Africa Congo, Democratic Republic of (Congo-Kinshasa) Fexinidazole Source Type: news
EMA recommends fexinidazole, the first all-oral treatment for sleeping sickness
(Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative) The positive opinion is the result of a 10-year partnership between the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), Sanofi, and African partners. Fexinidazole will support international efforts to eliminate sleeping sickness, a fatal neglected tropical disease endemic to Africa. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - November 16, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
' Tiny Targets' Aid in Fighting African Sleeping Sickness
(MedPage Today) -- Low-tech devices slash tsetse fly populations in Congo (Source: MedPage Today Public Health)
Source: MedPage Today Public Health - November 1, 2018 Category: American Health Source Type: news
Evolutionary shift toward protein-based architecture in trypanosomal mitochondrial ribosomes
Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) plays key functional and architectural roles in ribosomes. Using electron microscopy, we determined the atomic structure of a highly divergent ribosome found in mitochondria of Trypanosoma brucei, a unicellular parasite that causes sleeping sickness in humans. The trypanosomal mitoribosome features the smallest rRNAs and contains more proteins than all known ribosomes. The structure shows how the proteins have taken over the role of architectural scaffold from the rRNA: They form an autonomous outer shell that surrounds the entire particle and stabilizes and positions the functionally important regions...
Source: ScienceNOW - October 25, 2018 Category: Science Authors: Ramrath, D. J. F., Niemann, M., Leibundgut, M., Bieri, P., Prange, C., Horn, E. K., Leitner, A., Boehringer, D., Schneider, A., Ban, N. Tags: Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Online Only r-articles Source Type: news
Infection biology: Staying a step ahead of the game
(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit ä t M ü nchen) Trypanosoma brucei, which causes sleeping sickness, evades the immune system by repeatedly altering the structure of its surface coat. Sequencing of its genome and studies of its 3D genome architecture have now revealed crucial molecular aspects of this strategy. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - October 18, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news
