INFORMATION:
Leishmaniasis is prevalent across Latin and South America, South Asia, the Middle East, East Africa and in European countries bordering the Mediterranean.
The research is a collaboration between the Hull York Medical School, the University of York, the Department of Parasitology at Charles University in Prague, the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at McGill University in Montreal, the Center for Geographic Medicine and Tropical Diseases at Tel Aviv University, Vibalogics GmbH, Cuxhaven and the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem.
The research was funded by a Developmental Pathways Funding Scheme award from the UK Medical Research Council and the Department for International Development.
The paper called, "Characterization of a new Leishmania major strain for use in a controlled human infection model" is published in the journal, Nature Communications. END
Scientists reach new milestone in vaccine development for leishmaniasis
Scientists reach new milestone in vaccine development for neglected tropical disease
2021-01-11
(Press-News.org) Researchers have taken an important step forward in developing a controlled human infection model to test leishmaniasis vaccines.
The University of York-led study identified and characterised a new strain of Leishmania parasite that will form the basis of a new controlled human infection model for the disease which is transmitted by the bite of sand flies. The team then produced the parasite to the standards required for use in human clinical studies.
The use of controlled human infection models has already proved invaluable in accelerating vaccine development for cholera, malaria, typhoid, influenza and other important infectious diseases. Such models are also being developed as part of the fight against COVID-19.
Around one billion people globally are estimated to be at risk of being infected with leishmaniasis in more than 98 countries.
Professor Paul Kaye from the Hull York Medical School who led the study said: "This is an important milestone for leishmaniasis vaccine development, bringing us a step closer to having the tools needed to evaluate potentially life-saving or life-changing vaccines in a timely and cost-effective manner.
"Reducing the financial burden associated with large scale clinical trials is of particular significance, given the limited funding available to develop vaccines for neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis."
The next phase of the research project will seek to recruit healthy volunteers to participate in a clinical trial to see how the body responds to the parasite and to determine how many participants are needed in future vaccine trials to determine vaccine efficacy.
Leishmaniasis is characterised by slow-to-heal skin ulcers that may spread to other areas of the body or mucosal surfaces causing lifelong stigma, or to the internal organs resulting in the potentially fatal visceral leishmaniasis. Current drug treatments are inadequate and there are currently no vaccines for human leishmaniasis. There are a reported 1,500,000 new cases and 20,000-30,000 deaths annually.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
U.S. mental health system needs broad changes to improve access and quality
2021-01-11
Conditions are ripe for transforming the U.S. mental health care system, with scientific advances, the growth of Medicaid and political consensus on the importance of improving mental health creating the possibility that goals once thought out of reach may be possible, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
Broad changes will be needed to improve how Americans receive mental health care, such as integrating behavioral health care into general health care settings, providing supportive housing to the homeless and promoting comprehensive mental health education.
Federal mental health parity legislation is one recent promising development that aims to put ...
Timing and intensity of oral sex may affect risk of oropharyngeal cancer
2021-01-11
Human papillomavirus (HPV) can infect the mouth and throat to cause cancers of the oropharynx. A new study published early online in END ...
Canada must dismantle anti-Black racism in medicine
2021-01-11
Canada must dismantle anti-Black racism in health care to address its harmful effects on people's health, argue authors of a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.201579
Racism has significant negative effects on the physical and mental health of Black people and people of nondominant racial groups. For example, there have been significantly higher death rates from COVID-19 among Black people in North America and the United Kingdom. Anti-Black racism also exists in the medical system, with stereotyping and bias by health care providers and an underrepresentation of Black physicians.
"First, we who work in health care must acknowledge the existence of anti-Black racism in ...
Youth using e-cigarettes three times as likely to become daily cigarette smokers
2021-01-11
An analysis of a large nationally representative longitudinal study by University of California San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science report that starting tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, before the age of 18 is a major risk factor for people becoming daily cigarette smokers.
Reporting in the January 11, 2021 online edition of Pediatrics, researchers found that in 2014 people age 12 to 24 who used e-cigarettes were three times as likely to become daily cigarette smokers in the future. Among those who reported using a tobacco product, daily use increased with age through age 28. Daily cigarette smoking nearly doubled between 18 to 21 year olds (12 percent) and 25 to 28 year ...
Marijuana use typically drops at the beginning of the year, then climbs in summer and fall
2021-01-11
Marijuana use increases throughout the calendar year, with use up 13 percent on average at the end of each year (2015-2019) compared to the beginning, according to a new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
"We found that marijuana use is consistently higher among those surveyed later in the year, peaking during late fall or early winter before dropping at the beginning of the following year. We think this may be due, in part, to a 'Dry January' in which some people stop drinking alcohol or even stop using marijuana as part of a New Year's ...
Uncovering basic mechanisms of intestinal stem cell self-renewal and differentiation
2021-01-11
The gut plays a central role in the regulation of the body's metabolism and its dysfunction is associated with a variety of diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, colitis and colorectal cancer that affect millions of people worldwide. Targeting endocrine dysfunction at an early stage by stimulating the formation of specific enteroendocrine cells from intestinal stem cells could be a promising regenerative approach for diabetes therapy. For this, however, a detailed understanding of the intestinal stem cell lineage hierarchy and the signals regulating the recruitment of the different intestinal cell types is critical.
Heiko Lickert ...
Big differences in how coral reef fish larvae are dispersed
2021-01-11
How the larvae of colorful clownfish that live among coral reefs in the Philippines are dispersed varies widely, depending on the year and seasons - a Rutgers-led finding that could help scientists improve conservation of species.
Right after most coral reef fish hatch, they join a swirling sea of plankton as tiny, transparent larvae. Then currents, winds and waves disperse them, frequently to different reefs.
During seven years of surveys of coral reef-dwelling clownfish, scientists measured how the dispersal of larvae varied over the years and seasonally, including during monsoons, according Rutgers-led research in the journal Molecular Ecology. They found that larvae dispersal varied a lot on both timescales.
Their research suggests that when scientists ...
Megalodons gave birth to large newborns that likely grew by eating unhatched eggs in womb
2021-01-11
A new study shows that the gigantic Megalodon or megatooth shark, which lived nearly worldwide roughly 15-3.6 million years ago and reached at least 50 feet (15 meters) in length, gave birth to babies larger than most adult humans.
This latest research shedding light on the reproductive biology, growth and life expectancy of Megalodon (formally called Otodus megalodon) appears in the international journal Historical Biology.
Although Otodus megalodon is typically portrayed as a super-sized, monstrous shark in novels and films such as the 2018 sci-fi film "The Meg," scientific data support a more modest but still impressive estimate of about 50 feet (15 meters) for the presently known largest individuals. The ...
Positive 'tipping points' offer hope for climate
2021-01-11
Positive "tipping points" could spark cascading changes that accelerate action on climate change, experts say.
A tipping point is a moment when a small change triggers a large, often irreversible, response.
Professor Tim Lenton, Director of the Global Systems Institute (GSI) at the University of Exeter, has previously warned the world is "dangerously close" to several tipping points that could accelerate climate change.
But in a new paper in the journal Climate Policy, Professor Lenton and Simon Sharpe, a Deputy Director in the UK Cabinet Office COP 26 unit, identify tipping points in human societies that could rapidly ...
Transition metal 'cocktail' helps make brand new superconductors
2021-01-09
Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University mixed and designed a new, high entropy alloy (HEA) superconductor, using extensive data on simple superconducting substances with a specific crystal structure. HEAs are known to preserve superconducting characteristics up to extremely high pressures. The new superconductor, Co0.2Ni0.1Cu0.1Rh0.3Ir0.3Zr2, has a superconducting transition at 8K, a relatively high temperature for an HEA. The team's approach may be applied to discovering new superconducting materials with specific desirable properties.
It's been over a hundred years since the discovery of superconductivity, where certain materials were found to suddenly show minimal resistance to electrical currents below a transition temperature. As we explore ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas
Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model
Neuroscience leader reveals oxytocin's crucial role beyond the 'love hormone' label
Twelve questions to ask your doctor for better brain health in the new year
Microelectronics Science Research Centers to lead charge on next-generation designs and prototypes
Study identifies genetic cause for yellow nail syndrome
New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away
Good news for people with MS: COVID-19 infection not tied to worsening symptoms
Department of Energy announces $179 million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers
Human-related activities continue to threaten global climate and productivity
Public shows greater acceptance of RSV vaccine as vaccine hesitancy appears to have plateaued
Unraveling the power and influence of language
Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque precursor in mice
TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn's disease, recommended as first-line therapies
Twisted Edison: Bright, elliptically polarized incandescent light
Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription
Breaking boundaries: Researchers isolate quantum coherence in classical light systems
Brain map clarifies neuronal connectivity behind motor function
Researchers find compromised indoor air in homes following Marshall Fire
Months after Colorado's Marshall Fire, residents of surviving homes reported health symptoms, poor air quality
Identification of chemical constituents and blood-absorbed components of Shenqi Fuzheng extract based on UPLC-triple-TOF/MS technology
'Glass fences' hinder Japanese female faculty in international research, study finds
Vector winds forecast by numerical weather prediction models still in need of optimization
New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer’s disease
Trends in buprenorphine dispensing among adolescents and young adults in the US
Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility
Firearm and motor vehicle pediatric deaths— intersections of age, sex, race, and ethnicity
Association of state cannabis legalization with cannabis use disorder and cannabis poisoning
Gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and eclampsia and future neurological disorders
Adoption of “hospital-at-home” programs remains concentrated among larger, urban, not-for-profit and academic hospitals
[Press-News.org] Scientists reach new milestone in vaccine development for leishmaniasisScientists reach new milestone in vaccine development for neglected tropical disease