The public health significance of hookworm disease is briefly reviewed. The latest evidence confirms that blood loss caused by the worms' feeding activity in the gut is a contributing factor in the development of poor iron status leading to iron-deficiency anaemia. The World Health Organization has identified adolescent girls and women of child-bearing age as high-risk groups regarding the impa...

Many cases of naphthalene and naphthalene poisoning are reported in literature since the introduction of naphthalene in 1841 by Rossbach as an internal antiseptic in typhoid fever and an anthelminthic in 1842. Today, naphthalene poisoning occurs in suicidal attenipts, or accidental ingestion by children. Naphthalene’s relative insolubility in water and its poor absorption from the gut underesti...

Inheritance of a gene mutation leads to the initiation of 5 to 10% of most cancers, including colon cancer cases. We developed a chemoprevention strategy using a novel combination of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) sulindac plus the anthelminthic benzimidazole, mebendazole. This oral drug combination was effective in the ApcMin/+ mouse model of Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP). ...

The use of BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) has led to excellent clinical responses in patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However these inhibitors have been less effective as single agents in the terminal blast phase (BP). We show that pyrvinium, a FDA-approved anthelminthic drug, selectively targets BP-CML CD34+ progenitor cells. Pyrvinium is effective in indu...

Worms have co-evolved with humans over millions of years. To survive, they manipulate host systems by modulating immune responses so that they cause (in the majority of hosts) relatively subtle harm. Anthelminthic treatment has been promoted as a measure for averting worm specific pathology and to mitigate subtle morbidities which may include effects on anaemia, growth, cognitive function and e...

Abstract Levamisole is an anthelminthic that was first used as a de-worming agent in humans and animals. It has also been used to treat inflammatory conditions as well as certain types of cancer. Levamisole was discontinued for human use in the early 21st century due to toxic side effects including agranulocytosis and vasculitis. Recently, levamisole was discovered as a cocaine adulterant after...