Ocular toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by the infection with Toxoplasma gondii through congenital or acquired routes. Once the parasite reaches the retina, it proliferates within host cells followed by rupture of the host cells and invasion into neighboring cells to make primary lesions. Sometimes the restricted parasite by the host immunity in the first scar is activated to infect another lesion nearby the scar. Blurred vision is the main complaint of ocular toxoplasmic patients and can be diagnosed by detection of antibodies or parasite DNA. Ocular toxoplasmosis needs therapy with several combinations of drugs to eliminate the parasite and accompanying inflammation; if not treated it sometimes leads to loss of vision. We describe here clinical features and currently available chemotherapy of ocular toxoplasmosis.
Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Toxoplasma/*isolation & purification ; Toxoplasmosis, Ocular/*drug therapy/parasitology

BACKGROUND: We thought that nitroimidazoles including metronidazole had been overused empirically for treatment of trichomoniasis in Korea. But there were not any reports about in vitro-drug susceptibility and distribution of resistant strains of Trichomonas vaginalis up to date. Therefore, we made an experiment in order to observe the susceptibility of clinical isolates of T. vaginalis to a variety of antiprotozoal agents. METHODS: Twenty-six strains of T. vaginalis isolated from 217 patients afflicted with the increased vaginal discharge were tested by Meingassner's microtiter plate method in newly devised anaerobic box, in which anaerobic and microaerobic conditions were more easily manipulated. The agents used in this study for testing the minimal lethal concentration (MLC) to the clinical isolates were as follows; nitroimidazoles, doxycycline, Zinc sulfate and gentian violet as chemotherapeutic agents and povidone-iodine as vaginal cleansing agents were studied. RESULTS: In anaerobic culture, according to anaerobic resistance cut-point (minimal lethal concentration >3.1 microgram/mL) proposed by M ller etc., metronidazole (MTZ)-, tinidazole (TNZ)-and ornidazole (ONZ)-resistant strains were four (4/26, 15.4%), two (2/26, 7.7 %) and two (2/26, 7.7%) strains, respectively. Among these resistant strains, two strains (G7 and G16) were resistant to two drugs and one strain (G20) resistant to three drugs concomitantly. Their resistance range was narrow as 6.25~12.5 microgram/mL. MLC of clotrimazole was > or = 2,000 microgram/mL in all strains, econazole was as high as 62.5~250 microgram/mL and miconazole was also high as 62.5~> or = 2,000 microgram/mL. In microaerobic culture (O2 concentration <5%), all strains showed lower MLC to MTZ, TNZ and ONZ than >100 microgram/ mL (aerobic resistance cut-point proposed by M ller etc.). MLC of doxycycline ranged 62.5 to 250 microgram/mL both in microaerobic and anaerobic conditions. All strains of T. vaginalis growed well in 3,000 microgram/mL of povidone-iodine. 22 strains (84.6%) among 26 T. vaginalis strains showed MLCs of 3.5 mM~7.0 mM to zinc sulfate. Gentian violet showed 15.6~62.5 microgram/mL of MLC. CONCLUSION: In absolute anaerobic culture, 4 strains (15.4%) among 26 T. vaginalis strains were resistant to metronidazole. But these 4 strains were not resistant in microaerobic culture depending on Miler's aerobic resistance cut-point (>50~100 microgram/mL), the value decided in normal O2 pressure. Vaginal PO2 is 0~28mm Hg (median 1 mmHg) at healthy or trichomonas-infected women. Therefore, we think that his aerobic resistance cut-point value is hard to be available in microaerobic condition and microaerobic resistance guide-line is to be established newly.
Anti-Infective Agents ; Antiprotozoal Agents* ; Clotrimazole ; Detergents ; Doxycycline ; Econazole ; Female ; Gentian Violet ; Humans ; Korea ; Metronidazole ; Miconazole ; Nitroimidazoles ; Ornidazole ; Povidone-Iodine ; Tinidazole ; Trichomonas vaginalis* ; Trichomonas* ; Vaginal Discharge ; Zinc Sulfate

Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) is a rare disease. This is a solitary case report from Orissa, India. We describe a case of PKDL in a 55-year-old male who presented with multiple nodular lesions over face, trunk, and extremities. The patient had been to an endemic area of kala-azar and had a previous history of leishmaniasis. Fine needle aspiration cytology samples from skin nodules revealed Leishmania amastigotes.
Antimony Sodium Gluconate/therapeutic use ; Antiprotozoal Agents/therapeutic use ; Humans ; India ; Leishmania/isolation & purification ; Leishmaniasis, Visceral/diagnosis/drug therapy/*parasitology/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin/*parasitology/pathology

Theileria annulata, a protozoan parasite of cattle and domestic buffaloes, is transmitted by ticks of the genus Hyalomma, and causes a disease named Mediterranean or tropical theileriosis. In this research 50 cattle naturally infected with Theileria annulata were treated with the extract of the plant Peganum harmala. The treatment was continued for 5 days, the dose of the extract being 5 mg/kg per day. After the treatment, 39 cattle responded to the treatment and recovered, but 11 did not respond to the treatment and died. The recovery rate of animals treated with the extract of the plant Peganum harmala was 78%.
Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents/*therapeutic use ; Cattle ; Lymph Nodes/parasitology/pathology ; *Peganum ; Phytotherapy/*veterinary ; Plant Extracts/*therapeutic use ; *Theileria annulata ; Theileriasis/*drug therapy/pathology ; Treatment Outcome

Toxoplasma gondii is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis with symptoms of congenital neurological and ocular diseases and acquired lymphadenitis, retinochoroiditis, and meningoencephalitis. Small molecules which block the activity of protein kinases were tested in in vitro culture of T. gondii to find new therapeutic drugs of safer and more effective than the combined administration of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine that sometimes provoke lethal Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Among them, Gefitinib and Crizotinib inhibited intracellular growth of T. gondii in HeLa cells by counting the number of T. gondii per parasitophorous vacuolar membrane whereas Sunitinib did not. Gefitinib inhibited the growth of T. gondii in a dose-dependent manner over 5 microM up to the tolerable concentration of HeLa cells and halted the division of the parasite immediately from the time point of treatment. Gefitinib inhibition suggests that tyrosine kinases of EGFR family or other homologous kinases of the parasite itself may be the target to cause the block of T. gondii growth.
Antiprotozoal Agents/*pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drug Repositioning ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests ; Quinazolines/*pharmacology ; Toxoplasma/*drug effects/*growth & development

This report is about the case of gastritis associated with capillariasis. The patient was a 52-yr-old Korean woman who occasionally ate raw fish and chicken. She complained of mild abdominal pain and nausea, but not diarrhea. An endoscopic examination revealed an exudative flat erosive change on the gastric mucosa of the antrum. She was microscopically diagnosed as chronic gastritis with numerous eosinophil infiltrations. The sectioned worms and eggs in mucosa were morphologically regarded as belonging to the genus Capillaria. This is the first case of gastric capillariasis reported in the Republic of Korea.
Albendazole/therapeutic use ; Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents/therapeutic use ; *Capillaria ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Enoplida Infections/*diagnosis/drug therapy ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa/parasitology/*pathology ; Gastritis/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Albendazole binds to parasite's tubulin inhibiting its glucose absorption. Its common adverse effects are nausea, vomiting, constipation, thirst, dizziness, headache, hair loss and pruritus. Although mainly metabolized in the liver, abnormal liver function tests were a rare adverse effect during clinical trials and we found no literature about albendazole-induced hepatitis requiring admission. This patient had a previous history of albendazole ingestion in 2002 resulting in increase of liver function tests. And in 2005, the episode repeated. We evaluated the patient for viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and autoimmune hepatitis, but no other cause of hepatic injury could be found. Liver biopsy showed periportal steatosis and periportal necrosis. The initial abnormal liver function test improved only with supportive care. These findings and the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (RUCAM/CIOMS) score of 9 are compatible with drug-induced hepatitis so we report the case of this patient with a review of the literature.
Albendazole/*adverse effects ; Antiprotozoal Agents/*adverse effects ; Eosinophils/metabolism ; Glucose/metabolism ; Hepatitis, Toxic/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Liver/drug effects ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease and endemic in developing countries. A lack of adequate and definitive chemotherapeutic agents to fight against this infection has led to the investigation of numerous compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of RT-01, an organotellurane compound presenting biological activities, in 2 experimental systems against Leishmania amazonensis. The in vitro system consisted of promastigotes and amastigotes forms of the parasite, and the in vivo system consisted of L. amazonensis infected BALB/c mice, an extremely susceptible mouse strain. The compound proved to be toxic against promastigotes and amastigotes. The study also showed that treatment with RT-01 produces an effect similar to that treatment with the reference antimonial drug, Glucantime, in L. amazonensis infected mice. The best results were obtained following RT-01 intralesional administration (720 microgram/kg/day); mice showed significant delay in the development of cutaneous lesions and decreased numbers of parasites obtained from the lesions. Significant differences in tissue pathology consisted mainly of no expressive accumulation of inflammatory cells and well-preserved structures in the skin tissue of RT-01-treated mice compared with expressive infiltration of infected cells replacing the skin tissue in lesions of untreated mice. These findings highlight the fact that the apparent potency of organotellurane compounds, together with their relatively simple structure, may represent a new avenue for the development of novel drugs to combat parasitic diseases.
Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents/*pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Leishmania mexicana/*drug effects ; Leishmaniasis/drug therapy/*parasitology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Organometallic Compounds/*pharmacology

Leishmaniasis is a neglected disease and endemic in developing countries. A lack of adequate and definitive chemotherapeutic agents to fight against this infection has led to the investigation of numerous compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of RT-01, an organotellurane compound presenting biological activities, in 2 experimental systems against Leishmania amazonensis. The in vitro system consisted of promastigotes and amastigotes forms of the parasite, and the in vivo system consisted of L. amazonensis infected BALB/c mice, an extremely susceptible mouse strain. The compound proved to be toxic against promastigotes and amastigotes. The study also showed that treatment with RT-01 produces an effect similar to that treatment with the reference antimonial drug, Glucantime, in L. amazonensis infected mice. The best results were obtained following RT-01 intralesional administration (720 microgram/kg/day); mice showed significant delay in the development of cutaneous lesions and decreased numbers of parasites obtained from the lesions. Significant differences in tissue pathology consisted mainly of no expressive accumulation of inflammatory cells and well-preserved structures in the skin tissue of RT-01-treated mice compared with expressive infiltration of infected cells replacing the skin tissue in lesions of untreated mice. These findings highlight the fact that the apparent potency of organotellurane compounds, together with their relatively simple structure, may represent a new avenue for the development of novel drugs to combat parasitic diseases.
Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents/*pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Humans ; Leishmania mexicana/*drug effects ; Leishmaniasis/drug therapy/*parasitology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Organometallic Compounds/*pharmacology

Leishmaniasis, a neglected disease caused by Leishmania protozoans, primarily affects people in tropical and subtropical areas. Chemotherapy based on the use of pentavalent antimonials, amphotericin B, paromomycin, miltefosine and liposomal amphotericin B is currently the only effective treatment. However, adverse effects, long-term treatment and the emergence of parasite resistance have led to the search for alternative treatments. Natural products used in traditional medicine provide an unlimited source of molecules for the identification of new drugs, and the Amazon region has abundant biodiversity that includes several species of plants and animals, providing a rich source of new products and compounds. Although the literature describes numerous promising compounds and extracts for combating Leishmania protozoans, the results of such research have not been embraced by the pharmaceutical industry for the development of new drugs. Therefore, this review focused on the antileishmanial activity of extracts, isolated compounds and essential oils commonly used by the local population in the Brazilian Amazonian region to treat several illnesses and described in the literature as promising compounds for combating leishmaniasis.
Animals ; Antiprotozoal Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Brazil ; Humans ; Leishmania ; drug effects ; genetics ; growth & development ; Leishmaniasis ; drug therapy ; parasitology ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry