Neglected Tropical Disease News and Research

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Unique open science project shows way for development of new antimalarial treatments

Malaria remains one of the world's leading causes of mortality in developing countries. Last year alone, it killed more than 400,000 people, mostly young children.

16 Sep 2016

Fiocruz to start phase II clinical trials of novel vaccine for schistosomiasis

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, will start the phase II clinical trials of a vaccine for schistosomiasis, called 'Sm14 Vaccine'.

26 Aug 2016

Scientists discover novel African types of Salmonella linked to blood poisoning and death

The first global-scale genetic study of Salmonella Enteritidis bacteria, which is a major cause of blood poisoning and death in Africa and food poisoning in the Western World, has discovered that there are in fact three separate types.

22 Aug 2016

New compound could kill parasites of three neglected diseases

Scientists have identified a compound that can kill the parasites responsible for three neglected diseases: Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness.

8 Aug 2016

People with lymphatic filariasis more likely to acquire HIV infection, study shows

People infected with a parasitic worm called Wuchereria bancrofti in areas where HIV is endemic may be more likely to acquire HIV than people who are not infected with the worm, according to a new study in southwest Tanzania, published in The Lancet.

4 Aug 2016

Researchers uncover novel virulence strategies employed by Leishmania parasite

Professor Albert Descoteaux of INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre and his team have discovered novel virulence strategies employed by the Leishmania parasite.

29 Jul 2016

Emergence of multidrug-resistant salmonella strains increases burden of neglected diseases in Africa

"The affected countries will have a major problem if we do not manage to control salmonella bloodstream infections with new antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin," cautions Prof Jürgen May.

15 Jun 2016

Common angina drug can stimulate patient's own white blood cells to combat cryptococcosis

A drug, more commonly used in the treatment of angina, could be the focus of a new strategy in fighting the fatal fungal infection cryptococcosis

8 Jun 2016

Deadly ‘Crypto’ pathogen lures US researcher to UQ

Cryptococcus is so forsaken by research that it doesn’t even make the neglected diseases list – but the deadly fungal pathogen has lured an American scientist all the way to The University of Queensland.

14 Apr 2016

GHIT Fund invests in two innovative malaria eradication tools

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) announced today that it’s investing US$1,383,785 in a pair of innovative malaria eradication tools—a vaccine that could block transmission of two species of the deadly disease and a rapid field test that can reveal a malaria infection in minutes.

1 Apr 2016

Addition of just two DNA bases to LdAQP1 gene helps Black Fever parasite to overcome antimonial drugs

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute scientists show how the parasite responsible for the neglected tropical disease Black Fever (visceral leishmaniasis) can become resistant to drug treatment. Studying the whole genomes of more than 200 samples of Leishmania donovani revealed that the addition of just two bases of DNA to a gene known as LdAQP1 stops the parasite from absorbing antimonial drugs.

23 Mar 2016

World TB Day: Aeras releases new animated video to help raise awareness about TB

Aeras, a non-profit biotechnology organization developing new tuberculosis (TB) vaccines for the world, is launching a new 90-second animated video in honor of World TB Day to help raise awareness about TB’s devastating toll and the need for new tools, including vaccines, to fight this epidemic.

22 Mar 2016

Genome sequencing shows association between STIs and Trachoma

For the first time, genome sequencing has been carried out on Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis), a bacteria responsible for the disease Trachoma - the world's leading infectious cause of blindness, according to a study in Nature Communications.

26 Feb 2016

New Notre Dame research may lead to a therapy for Niemann-Pick Type C disease

Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disease for which there is currently no cure. NPC primarily strikes children before and during adolescence and affects one in every 150,000 children. The disease causes cholesterol and other lipids to build up in the body's cells, which results in symptoms such as delayed motor development, deterioration of memory and balance, and seizures.

26 Feb 2016

ZAO provides platform for scientists, clinicians to share new research and clinical data on Zika

ZAO provides a platform for scientists and clinicians to publish their findings and source data on Zika and its mosquito vectors within days of submission, so that research, medical and government personnel can keep abreast of the rapidly evolving outbreak.

10 Feb 2016

Researchers take major step towards developing vaccine for river blindness

The world's first vaccine for a disease that causes misery for millions in Africa could be tested within five years.

12 Jan 2016

UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy, Janssen R&D partner to identify new therapeutic targets for Chagas disease

Researchers at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego have entered into a research collaboration with Janssen Research & Development, LLC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to identify new therapeutic targets for Chagas disease, a parasitic infection that is the leading cause of heart failure in Latin America.

8 Jan 2016

Millendo signs license agreement, secures funding to test new drugs for treatment of endocrine disorders

Millendo Therapeutics, a University of Michigan startup company, announced an exclusive license agreement with AstraZeneca for the worldwide development and commercialization rights to test a new compound, MLE4901, for the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome.

6 Jan 2016

Risk of developing visceral leishmaniasis much higher in transplant patients

Researchers from Spain have analysed the prevalence of leishmaniasis among the population of organ transplant recipients. The findings of this study, published in the journal 'PLoS Neglected Tropical Disease', confirm that the risk of developing visceral leishmaniasis ‑the most severe form of the disease which can pose life-threatening complications‑ is more than one hundred times greater in transplant patients living in areas of disease outbreak.

25 Nov 2015

GHIT Fund invests $10.7 million to fight malaria, TB, leishmaniasis and dengue

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, which in the last two years has invested US$43 million to develop innovative tools for fighting diseases worldwide, today announced it is investing $10.7 million at multiple points in the product development pipeline to seek new interventions for malaria, tuberculosis (TB), leishmaniasis and dengue.

5 Nov 2015