Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
 44,886 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 42-year-old hospital worker had a recrudescence of falciparum malaria after chloroquine therapy. Further adequate treatment with chloroquine given orally did not clear the infection. He was then given a combination of sulphadiazine and pyrimethamine, which produced a radical cure. This points to the possibility of chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Nigeria, an African country where this has been thought to be unlikely. Because of this and earlier reports, clinicians should be on the alert to the possibility of chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum in this area, and efforts should be made to establish or reject the presence of malarial parasites resistant to chloroquine in Africa.
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PMID:Possible chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum in Nigeria. 38 72

A 42-year-old man was admitted to hospital with, previously wrongly diagnosed, fulminant falciparum malaria, 14 days after a two-week trip to Kenya. He had a high fever and was jaundiced, with severe anaemia and thrombocytopenia. He was given quinine intravenously and pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine (Fansidar) by mouth. He developed acute renal failure and increasingly severe cerebral symptoms, at times coma. An exchange transfusion and several plasmaphereses were, therefore, performed. The cerebral symptoms quickly abated during the exchange transfusion, but renal function failed to improve. Because of continuing fever, mefloquin (Lariam) and doxy-cycline (Vibramycin) were also administered. After several dialysis periods the patient improved gradually and was discharged after three weeks in generally good condition with normal renal function.
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PMID:[Exchange transfusion and (or) plasmapheresis: effective measures in severe tropical malaria?]. 328 61

The major surface circumsporozoite (CS) proteins are known to play a role in malaria sporozoite development and invasion of invertebrate and vertebrate host cells. Plasmodium vivax CS protein processing during mosquito midgut oocyst and salivary gland sporozoite development was studied using monoclonal antibodies which recognize different CS protein epitopes. Monoclonal antibodies which react with the CS amino acid repeat sequences by ELISA recognized a 50-kDa precursor protein in immature oocyst and additional 47- and 42-kDa proteins in older oocysts. A 42-kDa CS protein was detected after initial sporozoite invasion of mosquito salivary glands and an additional 50-kDa precursor CS protein observed later in infected salivary glands. These data confirm previous results with other Plasmodium species, in which more CS protein precursors were detected in oocysts than in salivary gland sporozoites. A monoclonal antibody (PvPCS) was characterized which reacts with an epitope found only in the 50-kDa precursor CS protein. PvPCS reacted with all P. vivax sporozoite strains tested by indirect immunofluorescent assay, homogeneously staining the sporozoite periphery with much lower intensity than that produced by anti-CS repeat antibodies. Immunoelectron microscopy using PvPCS showed that the CS protein precursor was associated with peripheral cytoplasmic vacuoles and membranes of sporoblast and budding sporozoites in development oocysts. In salivary gland sporozoites, the CS protein precursor was primarily associated with micronemes and sporozoite membranes. Our results suggest that the 50-kDa CS protein precursor is synthesized intracellularly and secreted on the membrane surface, where it is proteolytically processed to form the 42-kDa mature CS protein. These data indicate that differences in CS protein processing in oocyst and salivary gland sporozoites development may occur.
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PMID:Plasmodium vivax: a monoclonal antibody recognizes a circumsporozoite protein precursor on the sporozoite surface. 980 64

Chloroquine and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine sulfate, have been used in treating malaria, dermatitides of systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Hydroxychloroquine retinopathy is uncommon in Taiwan. Here we report a patient with hydroxychloroquine retinopathy which progressed even after discontinuation of hydroxychloroquine. A 42-year-old woman had systemic lupus erythematosus for twenty years. She had been treated with 200 to 400 mg of hydroxychloroquine per day (4 to 8 mg/kg of body weight/day) with a cumulative dose of 657 g. After bull's-eye maculopathy was found, hydroxychloroquine was discontinued. Her medical history revealed no chloroquine administration and no other systemic disease. Five years after cessation of the therapy, her visual acuity and visual fields continued to deteriorate. Ophthalmoscopic examination revealed the hydroxychloroquine retinopathy had advanced. To the best of our knowledge, the progression of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy after discontinuation of medications is a rare phenomenon. Regular ophthalmologic examinations should be performed for patients on hydroxychloroquine regimens because there is no satisfactory treatment for hydroxychloroquine retinal toxicity. Ophthalmologists, dermatologists and rheumatologists should monitor for ocular toxicity of hydroxychloroquine carefully.
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PMID:Progression of hydroxychloroquine retinopathy after discontinuation of therapy: case report. 1148 Mar 31

A 42-kDa fragment from the C terminus of major merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) is among the leading malaria vaccine candidates that target infection by asexual erythrocytic-stage malaria parasites. The MSP1(42) gene fragment from the Vietnam-Oak Knoll (FVO) strain of Plasmodium falciparum was expressed as a soluble protein in Escherichia coli and purified according to good manufacturing practices. This clinical-grade recombinant protein retained some important elements of correct structure, as it was reactive with several functional, conformation-dependent monoclonal antibodies raised against P. falciparum malaria parasites, it induced antibodies (Abs) that were reactive to parasites in immunofluorescent Ab tests, and it induced strong growth and invasion inhibitory antisera in New Zealand White rabbits. The antigen quality was further evaluated by vaccinating Aotus nancymai monkeys and challenging them with homologous P. falciparum FVO erythrocytic-stage malaria parasites. The trial included two control groups, one vaccinated with the sexual-stage-specific antigen of Plasmodium vivax, Pvs25, as a negative control, and the other vaccinated with baculovirus-expressed MSP1(42) (FVO) as a positive control. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) Ab titers induced by E. coli MSP1(42) were significantly higher than those induced by the baculovirus-expressed antigen. None of the six monkeys that were vaccinated with the E. coli MSP1(42) antigen required treatment for uncontrolled parasitemia, but two required treatment for anemia. Protective immunity in these monkeys correlated with the ELISA Ab titer against the p19 fragment and the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain 2 fragment of MSP1(42), but not the MSP1(42) protein itself or the EGF-like domain 1 fragment. Soluble MSP1(42) (FVO) expressed in E. coli offers excellent promise as a component of a vaccine against erythrocytic-stage falciparum malaria.
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PMID:The clinical-grade 42-kilodalton fragment of merozoite surface protein 1 of Plasmodium falciparum strain FVO expressed in Escherichia coli protects Aotus nancymai against challenge with homologous erythrocytic-stage parasites. 1561 65

A 42-year-old female patient with acute myeloid leukemia presented with fever and heavy chest pain after her first cycle of specific chemotherapy. Acute myocardial infarction was excluded, but surprisingly, parasitic inclusions in erythrocytes became obvious in Pappenheim and Giemsa-stained peripheral blood smears. The patient did not remember a tick bite but acknowledged having received several blood transfusions in her recent medical history. Suspicion of malaria was ruled out by use of a dip-stick test. The diagnosis of Babesia microti infection was finally established by specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Six weeks after initiation of specific treatment, PCR turned negative and a positive immunoflourescence assay (IFA) with an IgG titer of 1:128 indicated seroconversion. Subsequent screening of donors involved in the transfusion of blood products to the patient demonstrated borderline reactivity for Babesia microti (IgG-titer 1:32) in 1 out of 44 individuals. Neither the patient nor the positively tested blood donor had travelled to North America or Asia. Therefore, this is the first confirmed autochthonous human infection in Europe.
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PMID:First confirmed autochthonous case of human Babesia microti infection in Europe. 1758 72

When there is significant uncertainty in an innovation project, research literature suggests that strictly sequencing actions and stages may not be an appropriate mode of project management. We use a longitudinal process approach and qualitative system dynamics modelling to study the development of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes for malaria eradication in an African country. Our data were collected in real time, from early scientific research to deployment of the first prototype mosquitoes in the field. The 'gene drive' technology for modifying the mosquitoes is highly complex and controversial due to risks associated with its characteristics as a living, self-replicating technology. We show that in this case the innovation journey is linear and highly structured, but also embedded within a wider system of adoption that displays emergent behaviour. Although the need to control risks associated with the technology imposes a linearity to the NPD process, there are possibilities for deviation from a more structured sequence of stages. This arises from the effects of feedback loops in the wider system of evidence creation and learning at the population and governance levels, which cumulatively impact on acceptance of the innovation. The NPD and adoption processes are therefore closely intertwined, meaning that the endpoint for R&D and beginning of 'mainstream' adoption and diffusion are unclear. A key challenge for those responsible for NPD and its regulation is to plan for the adoption of the technology while simultaneously conducting its scientific and technical development.
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PMID:The development of complex and controversial innovations. Genetically modified mosquitoes for malaria eradication. 3225 61