Oriental schistosomiasis with neurological complications: case report

We describe a case of cerebral schistosomiasis, caused by Asian (oriental) Schistosoma japonicum trematode blood flukes, in a young Chinese patient and its management. We also provide a brief update for physicians on the clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of schistosomiasis, with particular emphasis on neuroschistosomiasis, the most severe clinical outcome associated with this parasitic infection

Variants of CTGF are associated with hepatic fibrosis in Chinese, Sudanese, and Brazilians infected with Schistosomes

Abnormal fibrosis occurs during chronic hepatic inflammations and is the principal cause of death in hepatitis C virus and schistosome infections. Hepatic fibrosis (HF) may develop either slowly or rapidly in schistosome-infected subjects. This depends, in part, on a major genetic control exerted by genes of chromosome 6q23. A gene (connective tissue growth factor [CTGF]) is located in that region that encodes a strongly fibrogenic molecule. We show that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs9402373 that lies close to CTGF is associated with severe HF (P = 2 × 10−6; odds ratio [OR] = 2.01; confidence interval of OR [CI] = 1.51–2.7) in two Chinese samples, in Sudanese, and in Brazilians infected with either Schistosoma japonicum or S. mansoni. Furthermore, SNP rs12526196, also located close to CTGF, is independently associated with severe fibrosis (P = 6 × 10−4; OR = 1.94; CI = 1.32–2.82) in the Chinese and Sudanese subjects. Both variants affect nuclear factor binding and may alter gene transcription or transcript stability. The identified variants may be valuable markers for the prediction of disease progression, and identify a critical step in the development of HF that could be a target for chemotherapy

Evidence for an important role of host microRNAs in regulating hepatic fibrosis in humans infected with &ITSchistosoma japonicum&IT

International audienceMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNAs that repress the translation of target gene transcripts. They have been implicated in various activities such as cell proliferation, survival, differentiation, migration and metabolism. We report here the first known miRNome and transcriptome analysis of human livers displaying advanced fibrosis due to Schistosoma japonicum infection. We present evidence that hsa-miR-150-5p, hsa-miR-10a-5p, hsa-miR-199a-3p, hsa-miR-4521, hsa-miR-222/221, hsa-miR-663b and hsa-miR-143-3p (associated without correction) play an important role in hepatic fibrosis by acting on metabolism, organization of the extracellular matrix proteins, lipid mobilization and limitation of oxidative damage stress. (C) 2017 Australian Society for Parasitology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Impact of the Three Gorges project on ecological environment changes and snail distribution in Dongting Lake area - Fig 4

<p>Distribution of snails in bottomlands outside the embankment of Yangtze River in Hunan section (A), in polder ditches inside the protective embankment of Yangtze River (B), and in bottomlands on diversion channels of Yangtze River (C) from 2003 to 2015.</p

Impact of the Three Gorges project on ecological environment changes and snail distribution in Dongting Lake area

<div><p>Background</p><p>The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is a remarkable, far-reaching project in China. This study was conducted to assess the impact of TGD on changes in the ecological environment, snail distribution and schistosomiasis transmission in Dongting Lake area.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Hydrological data were collected from 12 monitoring sites in Hunan section of Yangtze River before and after TGD was established. Data on snail distribution and human schistosomiasis infection were also collected. Correlation analyses were performed to detect the significance of snail distribution to changes in ecological environmental factors and human schistosomiasis infection.</p><p>Findings</p><p>A series of ecological environmental factors have changed in Dongting Lake area following the operation of TGD. Volume of annual runoff discharged into Dongting Lake declined by 20.85%. Annual sediment volume discharged into the lake and the mean lake sedimentation rate decreased by 73.9% and 32.2%, respectively. From 2003 to 2015, occurrence rate of frames with living snails and mean density of living snails decreased overall by 82.43% and 94.35%, respectively, with annual decrements being 13.49% and 21.29%. Moreover, human infection rate of schistosomiasis had decreased from 3.38% in 2003 to 0.44% in 2015, with a reduction of 86.98%. Correlation analyses showed that mean density of living snails was significantly associated with water level (r = 0.588, <i>p</i><0.001), as well as the mean elevation range of the bottomland (r = 0.374, <i>p</i> = 0.025) and infection rate of schistosomiasis (r = 0.865, <i>p</i><0.001).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Ecological environmental changes caused by the TGD were associated with distribution of snails, and might further affect the transmission and prevalence of schistosomiasis. Risk of schistosomiasis transmission still exists in Dongting Lake area and long-term monitoring is required.</p></div

Alleles 308A and 238A in the Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Gene Promoter Do Not Increase the Risk of Severe Malaria in Children with Plasmodium falciparum Infection in Mali

The hypothesis that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) aggravates malaria in children is supported by observations that TNF polymorphisms and high TNF levels have been associated with cerebral malaria. Nevertheless, severe malaria was not associated with polymorphisms located at positions −308A and −238A in the TNF alpha gene promoter or with a high TNF level in plasma in children from Bamako, Mali

Snail distribution in the monitoring sites of the Yangtze River in Hunan section from 2003 to 2015.

<p>Snail distribution in the monitoring sites of the Yangtze River in Hunan section from 2003 to 2015.</p

Annual runoff volume (10⁸ m³) of Dongting Lake before and after the operation of the Three Gorges Dam.

<p>Three outlets represented Songzi, Taipin, and Ouchi. Four tributaries represented Xiang, Zi, Yuan and Li rivers.</p

Maps of Three Gorges Dam, Yangtze River and Dongting Lake.

<p>Blue arrows represented flow direction of rivers or lakes; Red dots represented diversion channels of Yangtze River, and four tributaries (Xiang, Zi, Yuan and Li rivers) into Dongting Lake; Red circles represented outlets of Dongting Lake into the Yangtze River; Red diamond and surrounding Arabic numeral represented locations of each monitoring site: 1→Songzi estuary, 2→Ouchi (middle branch) estuary, 3→Ouchi (Tuojiang river) estuary, 4→Ouchi (east branch) estuary, 5→Dongting Lake outlet, 6→Water gate of Hongshuigang, 7→Water gate of Tanzikeng, 8→Water gate of Sizhiqu, 9→Water gate of Liuzhiqu, 10→Water gate of Jingjiangmen, 11→Water gate of Bei, 12→Water gate of Aiwei.</p