Significance of Peripheral Blood Smear in Diagnosis of Blood Parasitic Infection

Bancroftian filariasis is a tropical and subtropical disease caused by Wuchereria bancrofti and transmitted by the Culex mosquitoes. It is conventionally diagnosed made by demonstrating microfilariae in the peripheral blood smear. Microfilariae and adult filarial worm have been incidentally detected in the blood. We here report an unusual case of Bancroftian microfilariasis in a 28-year-old male coming from endemic area with history of fever since 1 month. Patient had history of yellowish discoloration of skin and sclera

Modeling, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Potential Retinoid X Receptor (RXR) Selective Agonists: Novel Analogues of 4-[1-(3,5,5,8,8-Pentamethyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)ethynyl]benzoic Acid (Bexarotene) and ( E

Three unreported analogs of 4-[1-(3,5,5,8,8-pentamethyl-5-6-7-8-tetrahydro-2-naphthyl)ethynyl]benzoic acid (1), otherwise known as bexarotene, as well as four novel analogs of (E)-3-(3-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,1,4,4,6-pentamethylnaphthalen-7-yl)-4-hydroxyphenyl)acrylic acid (CD3254) are described, and evaluated for their retinoid-X-receptor (RXR)-selective agonism. Compound 1 has FDA approval as a treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL); though, treatment with 1 can elicit side-effects by disrupting other RXR-heterodimer receptor pathways. Of the 7 modeled novel compounds, all analogs stimulate RXR-regulated transcription in mammalian-2-hybrid and RXRE-mediated assays, possess comparable or elevated biological activity based on EC(50) profiles, and retain similar or improved apoptotic activity in CTCL assays compared to 1. All novel compounds demonstrate selectivity for RXR and minimal crossover onto the retinoic-acid-receptor (RAR) compared to all-trans-retinoic acid, with select analogs also reducing inhibition of other RXR-dependent pathways (e.g., VDR-RXR). Our results demonstrate that further improvements in biological potency and selectivity of bexarotene can be achieved through rational drug design