Leishmaniasis News and Research

RSS

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of infected sand flies. It is found in nearly 88 countries, from rain forests in Central and South America to deserts in the Middle East and west Asia. Some cases of the disease have also appeared in Mexico and Texas.

Leishmaniasis takes several different forms, including the most common cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores, and the more severe visceral leishmaniasis, which affects internal organs such as the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are 1.5 million new cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis and 500,000 new cases of visceral leishmaniasis in the world each year.

Investigating IDO1 and PDL1: Key immune checkpoints in cutaneous leishmaniasis research

In this Interview News Med talks to Dr. Nidhi Dey about immune checkpoints IDO1 and PDL1 and how they relate to cutaneous leishmaniasis research.

From TissueGnostics 5 Dec 2023

Scientists uncover the mystery behind painless leishmaniasis lesions

For the first time, scientists have begun to figure out why the disfiguring skin lesions caused by cutaneous leishmaniasis don't hurt.

30 Nov 2023

Drug Discovery 2023: A Conversation with Professor Janet Hemingway

We spoke to Professor Janet Hemingway, founding Director of iiCON and Professor of Tropical Medicine at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

9 Oct 2023

Parasites that cause visceral leishmaniasis can infect non-immune cells, study finds

The organisms that cause visceral leishmaniasis, a potentially deadly version of the parasitic disease that most often affects the skin to cause disfiguring disease, appear to have a secret weapon, new research suggests: They can infect non-immune cells and persist in those uncommon environments.

29 Sep 2023

Scientists delve deeper into how vaccines work against leishmaniasis

Scientists have established the effectiveness of vaccines they developed to prevent the disfiguring skin disease leishmaniasis in animal studies, and Phase 1 human trial planning is in motion for the most promising candidate.

31 Aug 2023

Scientists discover mechanism of cell death in people living with HIV

Professor Simona Stäger's team has made a breakthrough in the study of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

13 Jul 2023

Study identifies the predictors of post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome symptoms

Study identifies the predictors of post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) syndrome symptoms.

30 Jun 2023

UCalgary researchers discover how Leishmania parasites hide within the body

University of Calgary researchers have discovered how Leishmania parasites hide within the body to cause Leishmaniasis. The tiny parasites are carried by infected sand flies.

26 Jun 2023

Understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for antimony drug resistance in Leishmania parasites

Leishmaniasis is a tropical disease caused by parasites known as Leishmania, which are transmitted to humans and animals through the bites of more than 90 species of sand flies.

22 Jun 2023

Study findings offer hope for the development of novel treatments for leishmaniasis

In an article published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil show how protozoans of the genus Leishmania that cause leishmaniasis manipulate a protein that plays an essential role in the organism's defense in order to continue to replicate, preventing the body from vanquishing the disease.

23 May 2023

Advancing the development of vaccines through recombinant technology

In this interview, News-Medical talks to Dr. Amy Sheng, the head of CRO at Sino Biological, about current developments in the field of vaccine development through recombinant techniques.

From Sino Biological Inc. 4 May 2023

A microbiota-driven mechanism underlies severity of leishmaniasis infection

In a recent study posed to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers in Brazil and the United States investigated the probable impact of the skin microbiome microbiota on the outcomes of cutaneous leishmaniasis.

8 Feb 2023

MALAT1 suppression is a hallmark of tissue and peripheral proliferative T cells in COVID-19

In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers in the United Kingdom investigated lncRNA (long non-coding ribonucleic acids) expression in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) T lymphocyte transcriptomes.

10 Jan 2023

Nectar of common plants could be used to help fight Leishmania infections

The nectar of common plants such as sunflower contain bioactive agents that can inhibit the growth of Leishmania and could be used to help fight the potentially fatal disease caused by the parasite, say researchers.

2 Jun 2022

Study investigates the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in urine

Researchers developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in urine samples.

19 May 2022

Nanotech imaging device shows potential to make disease diagnosis with smartphones

A nanotech imaging device, tiny enough to fit on a smartphone camera lens, has the potential to make the diagnosis of certain diseases accessible and affordable for people in rural and remote regions, say Australian scientists who developed it.

12 May 2022

Uncovering a new molecule that shows potential as antidote for carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas made when fossil fuels burn incompletely. It's also a silent killer.

29 Apr 2022

Mapping access to HIV care

In this interview, we speak to Professor Diego Cuadros about his latest research in which he mapped individuals' access to HIV care in Africa.

23 Dec 2021

WHO and Sanofi sign new agreement to sustain specific efforts to eliminate NTDs

The World Health Organization (WHO) and Sanofi – one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies – have signed a new agreement for donations of medicines to sustain specific efforts to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

16 Dec 2021

COVID Moonshot receives key funding to accelerate drug discovery efforts

The COVID Moonshot, a non-profit, open-science consortium of scientists from around the world dedicated to the discovery of globally affordable and easily-manufactured antiviral drugs against COVID-19 and future viral pandemics has received key funding of £8 million from Wellcome, on behalf of the Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator.

28 Sep 2021