African Sleeping Sickness

Drug treatment corrects autism symptoms in mouse model

Autism results from abnormal cell communication. Testing a new theory, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have used a newly discovered function of an old drug to restore cell communications ...

Autism spectrum disorders created Mar 13, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (16) | comments 12 | with audio podcast

New tool in the fight against tropical diseases

A novel tool exploits baker's yeast to expedite the development of new drugs to fight multiple tropical diseases, including malaria, schistosomiasis, and African sleeping sickness. The unique screening method uses yeasts ...

Medical research created Feb 26, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 26, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Tuberculosis and neglected diseases targeted by new center

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Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 13, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sleeping sickness by stealth

(Medical Xpress)—Stealth is a well-known concept in military tactics. Almost since the invention of radar, the hunt began for counter-technologies to hide aircraft and missiles from detection – most successfully ...

Immunology created Feb 05, 2013 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Wild animals may contribute to the resurgence of African sleeping sickness

Wild animals may be a key contributor to the continuing spread of African sleeping sickness, new research published in PLOS Computational Biology shows. The West African form of the disease, also known as Gambiense Human ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jan 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New oral drug candidate for African sleeping sickness

A new oral-only treatment for sleeping sickness has entered Phase II/III clinical study in patients with late-stage sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and soon in Central African Republic (CAR). ...

Medications created Dec 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Gene clue to drug resistance in African sleeping sickness

(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers have identified a gene that controls susceptibility to drug treatment in Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite responsible for African sleeping sickness.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jun 19, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Old drug shows new promise to treat leishmaniasis

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Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

African sleeping sickness: a tale of two parasites

(Medical Xpress) -- The savannahs and rainforests of Africa bring to mind romantic notions of wildlife, adventure and exploration. But beneath this natural beauty lies a deadly, long-neglected disease: trypanosomiasis, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Dec 08, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Gene variant increases risk of kidney disease in African-Americans

African-Americans with two copies of the APOL1 gene have about a 4 percent lifetime risk of developing a form of kidney disease, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The finding brings scientists ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Oct 24, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Sleeping sickness drug may provide long-term protection against skin cancer

An antiparasitic agent used to treat African sleeping sickness might someday be used to prevent nonmelanoma skin cancers. Researchers found that DFMO, or α-difluoromethylornithine, still appeared to protect against nonmelanoma ...

Cancer created Oct 24, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

First field-based molecular diagnostic test for African sleeping sickness in sight

The Geneva-based not-for-profit foundation FIND and Japanese diagnostics company Eiken announced today that a next-generation molecular test designed specifically for sleeping sickness – a deadly parasitic disease also ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Sep 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

UT Southwestern research team's anti-malarial work wins international Project of the Year award

The discovery of a potential new anti-malarial drug by a UT Southwestern Medical Center-led research team has been awarded Project of the Year by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jun 07, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Human African trypanosomiasis, sleeping sickness, African lethargy, or Congo trypanosomiasis is a parasitic disease of people and animals, caused by protozoa of the species Trypanosoma brucei and transmitted by the tsetse fly. The disease is endemic in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa, covering about 37 countries and 60 million people. It is estimated that 50,000 to 70,000 people are currently infected, the number having declined somewhat in recent years. The number of reported cases was below 10,000 in 2009, the first time in 50 years. It is believed that many cases go unreported. About 48,000 people died of it in 2008. Four major epidemics have occurred in recent history: one from 1896–1906 primarily in Uganda and the Congo Basin, two epidemics in 1920 and 1970 in several African countries, and a recent 2008 epidemic in Uganda.

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