BACKGROUND The leishmanicidal action of tricyclic antidepressants has been studied and evidences have pointed that their action is linked to inhibition of trypanothione reductase, a key enzyme in the redox metabolism of pathogenic trypanosomes. Cyclobenzaprine (CBP) is a tricyclic structurally related to the antidepressant amitriptyline, differing only by the presence of a double bond in the ce...

BACKGROUND Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an infectious disease caused by various species of Leishmania and transmitted by several species of sand flies. CL is among the most neglected tropical diseases, and it has represented a major health threat over the past 20 years in Morocco. The main objectives of this study were to identify relevant sand fly species and detect Leishmania infection in ...

The aim of the present study was to quantify the parasite load of Leishmania infantum in dogs using real-time PCR (qPCR). Bone marrow, lymph node and spleen samples were taken from 24 dogs serologically positive for L. infantum that had been put down by the official epidemiological surveillance service. According to the clinical signs the dogs were classified as asymptomatic or symptomatic. Aft...

Visceral leishmaniosis (VL) due to Leishmania infantum (L. chagasi) is a lethal disease if untreated, but asymptomatic L. infantum infections have been reported previously. A better understanding of parasite transmission, dissemination, and survival in the human host is needed. The purpose of this study was to assess whether L. infantum circulated in peripheral blood of subjects with no history...

Leishmaniases are vector-borne diseases transmitted by phlebotomine sand flies. Three species of Leishmania are found in the Mediterranean basin: Leishmania infantum, the most common species responsible for both visceral (VL) and cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL); Leishmania major, found in North Africa and Middle East causing CL; Leishmania tropica with a limited presence in Europe, causing CL. Dur...

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis is caused by Leishmania infantum, transmitted to humans by bites of phlebotomine sand flies and is one of the most important public health problems in Iran. To identify the vector(s), an investigation was carried out in Bilesavar District, one of the important foci of the disease in Ardebil Province in northwestern Iran, during July-September 2008. METHODS Us...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a chronic and fatal disease caused by Leishmania infantum in Brazil. Leukocyte recruitment to infected tissue is a crucial event for the control of infections such as VL. Among inflammatory cells, neutrophils are recruited to the site of Leishmania infection, and these cells may control parasite replication through oxidative or non-oxidative mechanisms. The recrui...

OBJECTIVES Apoptosis is the process of programmed cell death (PCD) that occurs in both animal and plant cells. Protozoan parasites possess metacaspase and these caspase-related proteases could be involved in the PCD pathways in these organisms. Therefore we analyzed the activities of metacaspase and PARP genes in Leishmania infantum (MCAN/IR/96/LON49) treated with miltefosine. MATERIALS AND M...

BACKGROUND Infection with Leishmania results in a broad spectrum of pathologies where L. infantum and L. donovani cause fatal visceral leishmaniasis and L. major causes destructive cutaneous lesions. The identification and characterization of Leishmania virulence genes may define the genetic basis for these different pathologies. METHODS AND FINDINGS Comparison of the recently completed L. ma...

Diseases such as leishmaniases are important causes of morbidity and mortality in Brazil, and their diagnoses need to be improved. The use of monoclonal antibodies has ensured high specificity to immunodiagnosis. The development of an immunosensor, coupling a monoclonal antibody to a bioelectronic device capable of quickly detecting Leishmania sp. antigens both qualitatively and quantitatively,...