Ivermectin News and Research

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Ivermectin (22,23-dihydroavermectin B1a + 22,23-dihydroavermectin B1b) is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic medication. It is traditionally used against worms, but more recently found to be effective against mites and some lice too. Ivermectin is currently being used to help eliminate river blindness (onchocerciasis) in the Americas and stop transmission of lymphatic filariasis around the world.

LSTM researchers show potential of novel antiparasitic drug to combat malaria

Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine have shown the large potential impact of a completely new type of antimalarial drug that kills mosquitoes, as opposed to existing drugs that target the parasite, to reduce the spread of malaria.

27 Mar 2018

UT Southwestern researchers identify potential approach to suppress lethal parasitic infections

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified a chemical that suppresses the lethal form of a parasitic infection caused by roundworms that affects up to 100 million people and usually causes only mild symptoms.

5 Dec 2017

LoaScope could be valuable approach in the fight against river blindness

River blindness, or onchocerciasis, is a disease caused by a parasitic worm found primarily in Africa. The worm (Onchocerca volvulus) is transmitted to humans as immature larvae through bites of infected black flies.

9 Nov 2017

Drug approved to treat parasitic infections also exerts anti-tumor effect on EOC cells

Osaka Researchers, in partnership with other Japanese and U.S. scientists, report a new gene target, KPNB1, for treatment against epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC).

28 Sep 2017

Researchers develop long-lasting drug delivery system that may prevent malaria infections

Malaria affects hundreds of millions of people every year, killing more than half a million. Part of the difficulty of eliminating malaria stems from the fact that a large portion of the at-risk population lives in rural areas where access to doctors can be a challenge.

18 Apr 2017

Research finding could set stage for potential development of new antimicrobial drugs

Research teams from the National Institutes of Health and abroad have identified the first inhibitor of an enzyme long thought to be a potential drug target for fighting disease-causing parasites and bacteria.

3 Apr 2017

Study shines new light on genetic makeup of river blindness parasite

The parasite that causes river blindness infects about 37 million people in parts of Africa and Latin America, causing blindness and other major eye and skin diseases in about 5 million of them.

22 Nov 2016

Researchers sequence genome of parasitic worm that causes river blindness

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the parasitic worm responsible for causing onchocerciasis--an eye and skin infection more commonly known as river blindness.

21 Nov 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 how dysfunction of brain circuit may contribute to memory loss

Two interconnected brain areas - the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex - help us to know where we are and to remember it later.

30 Jun 2016

PATH and SD/Alere announce commercial availability of two diagnostic tools for NTDs

PATH and Standard Diagnostics/Alere announced today the commercial availability of two rapid diagnostic tools for onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. Designed for use in disease surveillance, the antibody-based tests are part of a suite of diagnostic innovations intended to support the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), a group of illnesses that affect more than a billion people worldwide.

12 Apr 2016

Scientists look for new antibiotic drugs in unexpected places

Many of the drugs we use in hospitals – antibiotics, antifungals and anti-cancer drugs, to name but a few – are produced by bacteria that live in the soil beneath our feet.

22 Mar 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

Smartphone checks blood for parasitic disease

New Smartphone technology has been developed that can detect and count wriggling parasitic worms in a drop of blood...

7 May 2015

Blackflies infected with Onchocerca volvulus parasite may spread nodding syndrome

Despite decades of research, scientists have yet to pinpoint the exact cause of nodding syndrome (NS), a disabling disease affecting African children. A new report suggests that blackflies infected with the parasite Onchocerca volvulus may be capable of passing on a secondary pathogen that is to blame for the spread of the disease. New research is presented in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

3 Oct 2014

Financial Times publishes special report on malaria

The Financial Times has published a special report (.pdf) on malaria featuring articles examining issues including prevention, treatment and research and development (R&D).

26 Apr 2013

TSRI receives fund to develop new field test for Onchocerciasis

Philanthropist, businessman and community leader John Moores has given The Scripps Research Institute approximately $2 million to fund the development of a new field test for Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, a parasitic infection that affects tens of millions of people in Africa, Latin America and other tropical regions.

21 Mar 2013

Guardian examines challenges of eliminating river blindness in Africa

The Guardian's "Global Development Professionals Network" blog "reports on the challenges of eliminating river blindness from Africa by 2025."

18 Dec 2012

Avermectin family of drugs shows promise against TB

A well-established family of drugs used to treat parasitic diseases is showing surprising potential as a therapy for tuberculosis (TB), according to new research from University of British Columbia microbiologists.

26 Nov 2012

Eradication of river blindness in Africa is feasible

In this AlertNet opinion piece, Simon Bush, director of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) at Sightsavers, an international NGO helping people with visual impairments in developing countries, examines efforts to rid Africa of onchocerciasis -- a blinding NTD.

24 Feb 2012