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Topic Review
Ivermectin during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ivermectin (IVM) is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic agent, developed and funded by Merck & Co. in 1974 to control and eradicate onchocerciasis caused by the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus in West Africa, which in the 1980s infected approximately 340,000 people. At the time, Africa did not have the resources necessary to seek treatments for this condition. The avermectins, of which IVM is a member, were discovered by Professor Satoshi Ōmura as fermentation products of the bacterium Streptomyces avermitilis at the Kitasato Institute in Tokyo. For this discovery, he received the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine, which he shared with William Campbell. IVM is used to treat onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis, strongyloidiasis and scabies, and, very recently, has been used to combat lice. The drug’s low cost, high efficacy, safety, and marked tropism for helminths, as well as the fact that it has almost no impact on human biochemistry, have led to the inclusion of IVM in the twentieth list of essential medicines and sixth list of vital medicines in children, a recommendation made by the expert committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019. The safety profile is attributed to its selective affinity for ion channels.
  • 5.6K
  • 22 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Monkeypox Virus
Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is a double-stranded DNA virus belonging to the Orthopox genus in the family Poxviridae. It has a zoonotic origin and MPXV infected wild rodents and primates have been found in central Africa. In humans, symptoms of MPXV infection include fever, head and muscle ache, lymphadenopathy and a characteristic rash that develops into papules, vesicles and pustules which eventually scab over and heal. Monkeypox is less often fatal (case fatality rates range from less than 1% to 3.6% depending on geographic localisation, viral clade and age group) than smallpox (up to 30%) caused by a related Variola virus. MPXV used to be endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, infecting wild animals and occasionally causing zoonotic outbreaks. Exotic animal trade and international travel combined with the increasing susceptibility of the human population due to lack of vaccination facilitated the spread of MPXV to new areas. Since April 2022, over 15.000 of MPX cases have been detected in >60 non-endemic countries around the world, predominantly among men who have sex with men, making it the largest described MPXV outbreak known to date.
  • 4.1K
  • 21 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Pathogenesis and Clinical Presentation of Pott’s Disease
Tuberculosis (TB) prevalence is increasing in developed nations and continuing to cause significant mortality in low- and middle-income countries. As a result of the uptick in cases, there also exists an increased prevalence of extrapulmonary TB. TB is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb). When M. tb disseminates to the vertebral column, it is called Pott’s disease or spinal TB. The frequency, symptoms, and severity of the disease range by the location of the spine and the region of the affected vertebrae. 
  • 3.6K
  • 16 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Antibacterial Designs for Implantable Medical Devices
The uses of implantable medical devices are safer and more common since sterilization methods and techniques were established a century ago; however, device-associated infections (DAIs) are still frequent and becoming a leading complication as the number of medical device implantations keeps increasing.
  • 3.5K
  • 01 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Vitamin D in Long COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has quickly become a global pandemic. Reports from different parts of the world indicate that a significant proportion of people who have recovered from COVID-19 are suffering from various health problems collectively referred to as “long COVID-19”. Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, joint pain, chest pain, muscle aches, headaches, and so on. Vitamin D is an immunomodulatory hormone with proven efficacy against various upper respiratory tract infections. Vitamin D can inhibit hyperinflammatory reactions and accelerate the healing process in the affected areas, especially in lung tissue. Moreover, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with the severity and mortality of COVID-19 cases, with a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D found in patients with COVID-19 and acute respiratory failure. However, no evidence has been found to support a role of vitamin D supplementation in reducing symptoms of long-COVID-19. On the other hand, having a higher vitamin D level before SARS-CoV-2 infection or raising it rapidly at the first symptoms of infection can significantly reduce the risk and severity of COVID-19.
  • 3.1K
  • 29 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Urinary Tract Infections during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The landscape of management of urinary tract infections (UTI) is changing rapidly. The COVID-19 pandemic draws the attention to the SARS-CoV-2 management with a subsequent reduced attention on bacterial infections. The COVID-19 diffusion containing procedures, such as use of facemasks and handwashing, have reduced spreading of bacteria and bacterial lung infections.
  • 3.0K
  • 21 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Betulinic Acid
Betulinic acid (BA, 3β-hydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid) is a pentacyclic triterpene acid present predominantly in Betula ssp. (Betulaceae) and is also widely spread in many species belonging to different plant families. BA presents a wide spectrum of remarkable pharmacological properties, such as cytotoxic, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and antimicrobial activities, including antiprotozoal effects.
  • 2.9K
  • 24 May 2021
Topic Review
Bioevaluation of Artemisia judaica L. Plant’s Essential Oil
Artemisia judaica (ArJ) is a Mediterranean aromatic plant used traditionally to treat gastrointestinal ailments, skin diseases, atherosclerosis, and as an immuno-stimulant. Researches validate the curative role of ArJ in the treatment of skin wounds, which is attributed to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as its high proportion of oxygenated monoterpenes and cinnamate derivatives.
  • 2.8K
  • 21 Feb 2022
Topic Review
In Vitro Lung Models
In vitro lung models are used to faithfully model basic human pathology and the complexity and diversity of human respiratory tissues and to study emerging viral respiratory pathogens and diseases. These models include conventional cell lines, primary human airway epithelial cell (hAEC) cultures, lung organoids, lung-on-a-chip technology, ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) models and human lung tissue explants.
  • 2.7K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Phage ImmunoPrecipitation Sequencing (PhIP-Seq)
Phage ImmunoPrecipitation Sequencing (PhIP-Seq) is a serological technology that is revolutionizing the manner in which we track antibody profiles. It is an antigen-specific antibody detection assay that is high throughput, highly sensitive, and mega-plexable (i.e., ability of plexing over a large number of different peptides).
  • 2.5K
  • 06 Jun 2022
Topic Review
MALDI–TOF Mass Spectrometry in Microbiology
Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that has emerged as a powerful tool in clinical microbiology for identifying peptides and proteins, which makes it a promising tool for microbial identification. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight MS (MALDI–TOF MS) offers a cost- and time-effective alternative to conventional methods, such as bacterial culture and even 16S rRNA gene sequencing, for identifying viruses, bacteria and fungi and detecting virulence factors and mechanisms of resistance. 
  • 2.5K
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Bacterial Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents
Bacterial pathogens as causative agents of infection constitute an alarming concern in the public health sector. In particular, bacteria with resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents can confound chemotherapeutic efficacy towards infectious diseases. Multidrug-resistant bacteria harbor various molecular and cellular mechanisms for antimicrobial resistance. These antimicrobial resistance mechanisms include active antimicrobial efflux, reduced drug entry into cells of pathogens, enzymatic metabolism of antimicrobial agents to inactive products, biofilm formation, altered drug targets, and protection of antimicrobial targets. These microbial systems represent suitable focuses for investigation to establish the means for their circumvention and to reestablish therapeutic effectiveness.
  • 2.4K
  • 01 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Human Schistosomiasis in Nigeria
Schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia, is a major parasitic disease caused by blood flukes (trematode worms) of the genus Schistosoma that live in fresh waterways in tropical and subtropical zones. Over 200 million people are infected globally, 90% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. Nigeria has the highest burden of schistosomiasis in this region. Elimination programmes have focused on human infections, with limited attention on infections in livestock that could be transmissible to humans, i.e. zoonotic schistosomiasis. This is now recognized as a risk factor for increased transmission and recrudescence of infection of more than one schistosome species, as well as of potential hybrid variants. Members of farming communities who herd grazing cattle, goats and sheep in proximity to rivers containing Bulinus freshwater snails that are the intermediate host of asexual lifecycle stages are particularly at risk of becoming infected through daily contact with contaminated water.
  • 2.4K
  • 21 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Biosynthesis Investigations of Terpenoids Antimicrobial Agents
Terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are one of the largest natural product families, constituting more than 40,000 primary and secondary metabolites, including monoterpenes (53%), diterpenoids (1%), sesquiterpenes (28%), and others (18%). The basic unit of terpenes is the isoprene unit (C5H8), which is a simple hydrocarbon. It is the main precursor and could be post-modified through the cytosolic mevalonate (MVA) pathway or the plastid methyl erythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway. Terpenoids are a major source of bioactive natural products. 
  • 2.3K
  • 07 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing
Antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) specifies effective antibiotic dosage and formulates a profile of empirical therapy for the proper management of an individual patient’s health against deadly infections. Therefore, rapid diagnostic plays a pivotal role in the treatment of bacterial infection.
  • 2.3K
  • 03 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Pathogenesis of Urinary Tract Infections
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections worldwide, occurring in both community and healthcare settings. Although the clinical symptoms of UTIs are heterogeneous and range from uncomplicated (uUTIs) to complicated (cUTIs), most UTIs are usually treated empirically. Bacteria are the main causative agents of these infections, although more rarely, other microorganisms, such as fungi and some viruses, have been reported to be responsible for UTIs.
  • 2.2K
  • 21 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Epidemiology of Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. About 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kills about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are a chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. It was historically called consumption due to the weight loss. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms. Tuberculosis is spread from one person to the next through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. People with latent TB do not spread the disease. Active infection occurs more often in people with HIV/AIDS and in those who smoke. Diagnosis of active TB is based on chest X-rays, as well as microscopic examination and culture of body fluids. Diagnosis of latent TB relies on the tuberculin skin test (TST) or blood tests. Prevention of TB involves screening those at high risk, early detection and treatment of cases, and vaccination with the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine. Those at high risk include household, workplace, and social contacts of people with active TB. Treatment requires the use of multiple antibiotics over a long period of time. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem with increasing rates of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). As of 2018, one quarter of the world's population was thought to have latent infection with TB. New infections occur in about 1% of the population each year. In 2018, there were more than 10 million cases of active TB, resulting in 1.5 million deaths and making it the number one cause of death from an infectious disease at that time. As of 2018, most TB cases occurred in the regions of South-East Asia (44%), Africa (24%) and the Western Pacific (18%), with more than 50% of cases being diagnosed in eight countries: India (27%), China (9%), Indonesia (8%), the Philippines (6%), Pakistan (6%), Nigeria (4%) and Bangladesh (4%). The number of new cases each year has decreased since 2000. About 80% of people in many Asian and African countries test positive while 5–10% of people in the United States population test positive by the tuberculin test. Tuberculosis has been present in humans since ancient times. 
  • 2.2K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis is a common neglected tropical disease of impoverished people and livestock in many developing countries in tropical Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. 
  • 2.1K
  • 02 Nov 2021
Topic Review
The Importance of Capsules in Dry Powder Inhalers
Capsule-based dry powder inhalers (cDPI) use a hard capsule that contains a powder formulation which consists of a mixture of a micronized drug and a carrier usually the lactose, known for its good lung tolerance. The capsule is either inserted into the device during manufacturer or by the patient prior to use. After perforating, opening or cut the capsule in the device, patients take a deep and rapid breath to inhale the powder, using air as the vector of drug displacement. The system is simple, relatively cheap and characterized by a lower carbon footprint than that of pressurized metered dose inhalers. 
  • 2.0K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Overview of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) α, β, and γ are nuclear receptors that orchestrate the transcriptional regulation of genes involved in a variety of biological responses, such as energy metabolism and homeostasis, regulation of inflammation, cellular development, and differentiation. The many roles played by the PPAR signaling pathways indicate that PPARs may be useful targets for various human diseases.
  • 2.0K
  • 16 Mar 2023
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