Glob Heart . 2020 Oct 13;15(1):69. doi: 10.5334/gh.891.
1 billion people are at risk of infection with leishmaniasis, a neglected disease strongly linked to poverty. There’s no single, simple cure: current treatments are complex and need to be adapted to the form of the disease and geographical region.
...
more
DNDi’s long-term goal for sleeping sickness, also known as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), is to develop and register two new drugs that are
...
effective against both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the disease and both subspecies of the parasite, T.b. gambiense and T.b. rhodesiense. T.b. rhodesiense is an acute form of the disease, occurring primarily in Eastern and Southern Africa. Better treatments for T.b. rhodesiense sleeping sickness are urgently needed.
more
After 100 years of chemotherapy with impractical and toxic drugs, an oral cure for human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is available: Fexinidazole. In this case, we review the history of drug discove
...
ry for HAT with special emphasis on the discovery, pre-clinical development, and operational challenges of the clinical trials of fexinidazole. The screening of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) HAT-library by the Swiss TPH had singled out fexinidazole, originally developed by Hoechst (now Sanofi), as the most promising of a series of over 800 nitroimidazoles and related molecules. In cell culture, fexinidazole has an IC50 of around 1 µM against Trypanosoma brucei and is more than 100-fold less toxic to mammalian cells. In the mouse model, fexinidazole cures both the first, haemolymphatic, and the second, meningoencephalitic stage of the infection, the latter at 100 mg/kg twice daily for 5 days. In patients, the clinical trials managed by DNDi and supported by Swiss TPH mainly conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo demonstrated that oral fexinidazole is safe and effective for use against first- and early second-stage sleeping sickness. Based on the positive opinion issued by the European Medicines Agency in 2018, the WHO has released new interim guidelines for the treatment of HAT including fexinidazole as the new therapy for first-stage and non-severe second-stage sleeping sickness caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (gHAT). This greatly facilitates the diagnosis and treatment algorithm for gHAT, increasing the attainable coverage and paving the way towards the envisaged goal of zero transmission by 2030.
more
La leishmaniasis es una enfermedad tropical desatendida sensible
al clima, trasmitida por la picadura de insectos flebótomos y
se calcula que amenaza a mil millones de personas en todo el mundo.
Esta enfermedad altamente compleja se presenta de varias formas
clínicas, causadas por 20 especies
...
del parásito Leishmania.
more
DNDi is now striving to make fexinidazole available to the majority of people who have T.b. gambiense sleeping sickness. We are supporting a three-year access and pharmacovigilance study that began in 2020 and have so far carried out in-coun
...
try training of relevant staff in 250 hospitals and health centres in T.b. gambiense-endemic countries; and updated national treatment and pharmacovigilance guidelines in Angola, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, and Chad.
more
Leishmaniasis is among the most neglected diseases. The most common form is cutaneous leishmaniasis that forms lesions on the skin.
The only treatment available
...
for cutaneous leishmaniasis is highly toxic. In some cases, patients have died because of the treatment, even though cutaneous leishmaniasis is not fatal.
more
Chagas is a parasitic disease that affects over 6 million people in the
world. As the disease typically remains asymptomatic for years, new cases
often go unnoticed and unreported, and most people with the disease
are unaware of their condition.
...
Less than 10% of people affected are
diagnosed and the vast majority do not receive the treatment they need.
If not treated, Chagas may cause irreversible, life-threatening damage to
the heart and other vital organs.
more
Website last accessed on 14.04.2023
Health workers Luke (Kenya), Juliana (Colombia), and Shishu (India) share the same hope for their patients with leishmaniasis: simple, oral treatments. For th
...
e first time ever, it seems leishmaniasis research is moving from neglect to a sense of hope.
more
La enfermedad de Chagas es parasitaria y afecta a más de 6 millones
de personas en el mundo. Como normalmente es asintomática durante
años, los nuevos casos suelen no detectarse ni reportarse y la mayoría
de las personas con la enfermedad no tiene conciencia de su condición.
Se diagnostica
...
a menos del 10% de las personas afectadas, y en su gran
mayoría estas no reciben el tratamiento que necesitan. Sin tratamiento,
la enfermedad de Chagas puede causar daños irreversibles al corazón y
otros órganos vitales, o la muerte.
more
The Leishmaniasis East Africa Platform (LEAP) was established to support the generation of scientific evidence for the development and distribution of new treatments for leishmaniasis in Eastern Afr
...
ica.
more
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, is an endemic disease in 36 sub-Saharan African countries, typically occurring in underdeveloped areas, where
health systems face significant difficulties of diverse natures.
Visceral leishmaniasis, the most severe form of leishmaniasis also known as kala-azar, is a life-threatening disease caused by Leishmania parasites which are transmitted by female sandflies. Visceral leishmaniasis causes fever, weight loss, spleen and liver enlargement, and, if not treated, death. P
...
eople with both visceral leishmaniasis and HIV are particularly difficult to cure.
more
Cutaneous leishmaniasis is a painful disease that exerts a serious toll on societies around the world that are afflicted by it. Although not life-threatening, the skin ulcers and scars it causes can lead to isolation and psychosocial pathologies due to social stigma, and its occurrence is often asso
...
ciated with regional conflicts.
more
Diabetes Poster - Does your child show any of these symptoms?
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 117: e200460, 2022
Integrating the multiple dimensions of the problem into a coherent approach adapted to field realities and needs represents an immense challenge, but the payoff is more effective and sustainable experiences, with higher social awareness
...
, increased case detection and follow-up, improved adherence to care, and integrated participation of various actors from multiple action levels. Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) initiatives have great potential for impact in the implementation of multidimensional programs of prevention and control successfully customised to the diverse and complex contexts where Chagas disease persists.
more
Over 6 million people worldwide are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, the protozoan that causes Chagas disease. Endemic in 21 Latin American countries, the disease can be transmitted by vector insects called triatomines — also known as “kissing bugs” —, foods or beverages contaminated with th
...
e parasite, blood transfusions, organ transplants, or congenitally during pregnancy or delivery.
more
Diese Broschüre möchte dazu beitragen, dass möglichst viele Menschen die Ergebnisse öffentlich finanzierter Forschung nutzen können.