Malaria, schistosomiasis and leishmaniases are among the most prevalent tropical parasitic diseases and each requires new innovative treatments. Targeting essential parasite pathways, such as those that regulate gene expression and cell cycle progression, is a key strategy for discovering new drug leads. In this study, four clinically approved anti-cancer drugs (Vorinostat, Belinostat, Panobino...

The leishmaniases are severe parasitic diseases that occur worldwide, caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania. Studies with medicinal plants can lead to a range of possibilities for treating and improving the patients’ quality of life. Research on Azadirachta indica fractions and extracts has shown that they have excellent anti-leishmanial activity based on bioactivity-guided fractionation o...

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a life-threatening systemic infection caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania and transmitted by phlebotomine sandflies. Leishmaniases are widespread in most countries in the Mediterranean basin, including Turkey. Leishmania infantum is responsible for VL in Turkey. We previously reported 19 children with VL who were diagnosed during the period of January 2000 ...

Phlebotomine sandflies are known to transmit leishmaniases, bacteria and viruses that affect humans and animals in many countries worldwide. These sandfly-borne viruses are mainly the Phlebovirus, the Vesiculovirus and the Orbivirus. Some of these viruses are associated with outbreaks or human cases in the Mediterranean Europe. In this paper, the viruses transmitted by Phlebotomine sandflies in...

Leishmaniases are diseases caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania that affect more than 20 million people in the world. The initial phase of the infection is fundamental for either the progression or control of the disease. The Leishmania parasites are injected in the skin as promastigotes and then, after been phagocytized by the host macrophages, rapidly transform into amastigotes. In this...

The standard treatment of human leishmaniases involves the use of pentavalent antimony [Sb(V)] compounds, including meglumine antimoniate. The mode of action of these compounds has not been fully elucidated. The possibility that Sb(III) is involved has been suggested; however, the biomolecule that may induce the conversion of Sb(V) to Sb(III) has not yet been identified. In the present study, w...

INTRODUCTION The presence of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) in the communities of the Campus FIOCRUZ Mata Atlântica (CFMA) in the City of Rio de Janeiro initiated the investigation of the Phlebotominae fauna in the Atlantic Forest to determine the occurrence of putative ACL vectors associated with the enzootic cycle. METHODS For 24 consecutive months, sand flies were captured inside t...

BACKGROUND Leishmaniases are zoonoses considered a public health problem, representing a complex group of diseases with a broad clinical spectrum and epidemiological diversity. Leishmaniasis is caused by several species of protozoa of the genus Leishmania. The evolution of the pathology and the resolution of the leishmaniasis are dependent mainly on the Leishmania species involved, although the...