Human trypanosoma infections like the ones seen in Africa and South America are unknown in India. The only exception in literature is of two documented cases of a self-limiting febrile illness, being attributed to Trypanosoma lewisi like parasites. We are reporting an unusual case of trypanosomiasis from the rural parts of Chandrapur district in Maharashtra. An adult male farmhand who used to practice veterinary medicine also, presented with history of febrile episodes on and off since five months and drowsiness before admission to this Institute. Though routine blood and other investigations were within normal limits, the peripheral smear showed a large number of trypanosomes which morphologically resembled the species Trypanosoma evansi, the aetiological agent of surra - a form of animal trypanosomiasis. A battery of assays covering the spectrum of parasitology, serology, and molecular biology confirmed the infecting parasite to be T. evansi. Failure to demonstrate the central nervous system (CNS) involvement, as evidenced by the absence of parasite in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) advocated the use of suramin - the drug of choice in early stage African trypanosomiasis without any CNS involvement. Suramin achieved cure in our patient. The case is being reported because of its unique nature as the patient was not immunocompromised and showed infestation with a parasite which normally does not affect human beings.

Case Report - A RARE CASE OF HUMAN TRYPANOSOMIASIS CAUSED BY TRYPANOSOMA EVANSI

Combatting African Animal Trypanosomiasis (AAT) in livestock: The potential role of trypanotolerance.

Surra, a vector borne disease caused by Trypanosoma (T.) evansi, affects the health, productivity and working capacity of camels. Since clinical signs are not pathognomonic, diagnosis must be confirmed by laboratory methods. This is a first study on the prevalence of surra in Cholistan Desert, Pakistan using a broad variety of diagnostic tests thereby emphasizing it as a risk for the dromedaries of Pakistan. In a cross sectional study, 1005 dromedary camels from three districts in the Cholistan Desert were sampled to assess the prevalence of trypanosomosis due to T. evansi by means of parasitological (Giemsa stained thin smear), serological (formol gel test, CATT/T. evansi, ELISA/VSG RoTat 1.2, immune trypanolysis) and molecular tests (TBR1/2 PCR and RoTat 1.2 PCR). Kappa was calculated to assess the degree of agreement between different tests whereas chi-square test along with odds ratios and their 95 % confidence intervals were used to study influence of breed, gender, age and locality on disease prevalence. Overall prevalence was 0.7 % with Giemsa stained thin smears (GST), 40.1 % with formol gel test (FGT), 47.7 % with CATT/T. evansi, 44.2 % with ELISA/VSG RoTat 1.2, 39.9 % with immune trypanolysis (TL), 31.9 % with TBR1/2 PCR and 30.5 % with RoTat1.2 PCR. Based on these results, the Cholistan Desert appears to be a high risk area for surra. According to TL and TBR1/2 PCR, camels at Bahawalpur are approximately two times more likely to be infected than those in Bahawalnagar (OR = 1.8; 95 % CI: 1.38-2.42) and Rahim Yar Khan (OR = 1.9; 95 % CI: 1.30-2.75). Test agreement of TL was moderate with CATT/T. evansi (k = 0.43; 95 % CI: 0.378-0.489) and ELISA/VSG RoTat 1.2 (k = 0.54; 95 % CI: 0.489-0.594) and poor with the other tests. Test agreement between TBR1/2 PCR and RoTat1.2 PCR was almost perfect (k = 0.96; 95 % CI: 0.950-0.984). We didn't find evidence for the presence of T. evansi type B in the studied population. Our study supports using antibody detection tests, rather than parasitological and molecular examination, to assess surra prevalence in camels. It also calls for implementation of measures to control surra in the Cholistan Desert.

/pdf/parasitological-serological-and-molecular-survey-of-3vdqtswg34.pdf

Parasitological, serological and molecular survey of Trypanosoma evansi infection in dromedary camels from Cholistan Desert, Pakistan.

The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, the regulator of blood and lymphatic vessels, is mostly investigated in the tumor and ophthalmic field. However, the functions it enjoys can also interfere with the development of atherosclerosis (AS) and further diseases like coronary heart disease (CHD). The source, regulating mechanisms including upregulation and downregulation, target cells/tissues, and known functions about VEGF-A, VEGF-B, VEGF-C, and VEGF-D are covered in the review. VEGF-A can regulate angiogenesis, vascular permeability, and inflammation by binding with VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2. VEGF-B can regulate angiogenesis, redox, and apoptosis by binding with VEGFR-1. VEGF-C can regulate inflammation, lymphangiogenesis, angiogenesis, apoptosis, and fibrogenesis by binding with VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3. VEGF-D can regulate lymphangiogenesis, angiogenesis, fibrogenesis, and apoptosis by binding with VEGFR-2 and VEGFR-3. These functions present great potential of applying the VEGF family for treating CHD. For instance, angiogenesis can compensate for hypoxia and ischemia by growing novel blood vessels. Lymphangiogenesis can degrade inflammation by providing exits for accumulated inflammatory cytokines. Anti-apoptosis can protect myocardium from impairment after myocardial infarction (MI). Fibrogenesis can promote myocardial fibrosis after MI to benefit cardiac recovery. In addition, all these factors have been confirmed to keep a link with lipid metabolism, the research about which is still in the early stage and exact mechanisms are relatively obscure. Because few reviews have been published about the summarized role of the VEGF family for treating CHD, the aim of this review article is to present an overview of the available evidence supporting it and give hints for further research.

The Role of the VEGF Family in Coronary Heart Disease.

https://www.cell.com/trends/parasitology/pdf/S1471-4922(14)00144-5.pdf

African trypanosome control in the insect vector and mammalian host

Pathogenic mechanisms of Trypanosoma evansi infections.

The composition of fatty acids (FA) and vitamin E in seed oils of Albezia lebbeck (AL), Citrus sinensis (CS), Terminalia catapa (TC), Tamarindus indica (TI) and Citrullus vulgaris (CV) was investigated. The oil yields were obtained by solvent extraction and analysed for fatty acids by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). The oil yields of the seeds were found to be 8.22 ± 0.55, 20.00 ± 1.50, 35.60 ± 1.60, 24.00 ± 1.20% and 9.42 ± 1.30 percent AL, CS, TC, CV, and TI respectively. Both saturated and unsaturated FA were identified in all the seed oils with the latter being the predominant with 77.70% in CV, 60.76% in CS, 56.98% in AL, 54.58% in TC and 34.52% in TI. Vitamin E was highest in CV 27.51 ± 2.42 mg/ml and lowest in TI 10.60 ± 1.50 mg/ml. There was significant decrease in percentage saturated FA, increase in percentage unsaturated FA with increase in vitamins E concentration in all the seed oils. The oils have many FA such as oleic acid, eicosadienoic acid and α-linoleic acid which could be of biological and industrial significance to humans.

/pdf/variation-of-fatty-acids-and-vitamin-e-composition-in-seed-1m52ye35af.pdf

Variation of Fatty Acids and Vitamin E Composition in Seed Oils of Some Plant Species

Kolaviron shows anti-proliferative effect and down regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor-C and toll like receptor-2 in Wuchereria bancrofti infected blood lymphocytes

The sialic acid complement of some selected organs of indigenous Nigerian Agama agama lizards and frogs, namely, heart, brain, liver, lungs and kidney, was determined using the thiobarbituric acid assay method and it was observed that the mean sialic acid concentration was highest in the kidney of female frogs (9.80 ± 1.20 mg/ml) followed by the liver of male frogs (9.0 ± 1.0 mg/ml) and least in the liver of female frogs (0.50 ± 0.080 mg/ml). Apart from establishing the baseline data on the sialic acid complement of the aforementioned organs in the above-mentioned species, this study also provides good information on the best organs for sialic acid isolation and preparation of sialic acid standard for research. Results from the present study suggest that lower vertebrates offer a more appealing alternative for sialic acid isolation, for the preparation of sialic acid standards, in the place of calves and this advantage should be exploited. It is concluded that the sialic acid complement in the organs of interest investigated in this study should be characterized to document their nomenclature and configuration in indigenous Nigerian A. agama lizards and frogs.

Mairo H. Inuwa

Papers

Pathogenic mechanisms of Trypanosoma evansi infections.

Variation of Fatty Acids and Vitamin E Composition in Seed Oils of Some Plant Species

Kolaviron shows anti-proliferative effect and down regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor-C and toll like receptor-2 in Wuchereria bancrofti infected blood lymphocytes

Sialic acid complement of indigenous Nigerian lizards and frogs