YokoCo

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by blood flukes ( spp.). Schistosomatids affect a wide array of vertebrate hosts, including humans. In the present study, multiple species of schistosomatids were identified by isolating schistosomatid cercariae (SC) from naturally infected snails. We also described different biotic and abiotic factors influencing SC infections in snails and reported human cercarial dermatitis (HCD) for the first time in Bangladesh. A total of 22,012 snails of seven species: , . , , , , spp., and spp., were collected and examined. Among these snails, 581 (2.6%) belonging to five species: . , . , . , . , and . , were infected with SC. The rate of infection was the highest for . (11.1%), followed by . (5.3%), and was the lowest for . (0.4%). Prevalence in snails was the highest in September (16.8%), followed by October (9.5%) and November (8.8%), and was the lowest in colder months, such as January (1.8%) and February (2.1%). Infections with schistosomatids were more common in larger snails and snails collected from sunny areas. We confirmed the presence of , . , . , . , and by PCR and sequencing. Through a questionnaire survey, we detected HCD in 214 (53.5%) individuals, and the infection rate was almost equally distributed across all professions. Collectively, the present results suggest that lymnaeid snails are the main vector for spp. prevalent in Bangladesh, and schistosomatids with zoonotic potential are also prevalent.

Human cysticercosis is caused by ingestion of eggs from taenia carriers. Neurocysticercosis (NCC), defined as the infection of the CNS and the meninges by the larval stage of , is the most common helminthic infection of the CNS worldwide. Parasites may lodge in brain parenchyma, subarachnoid space, ventricular system, or spinal cord, causing pathological changes that account for the pleomorphism of this disease. Seizures/epilepsy are the most common clinical manifestation, but other patients present with headache, focal deficits, intracranial hypertension, or cognitive decline. Accurate diagnosis of NCC is possible after interpretation of clinical data together with findings of neuroimaging studies and results of immunological tests. However, neuroimaging studies are fundamental for diagnosis because immunological test and clinical manifestations only provide circumstantial evidence of NCC. The introduction of cysticidal drugs changed the prognosis of most NCC patients. These drugs have been shown to reduce the burden of infection and to improve the clinical course of the disease in many patients. Efforts should be directed to eradicate the disease through the implementation of control programs against all the steps in the life cycle of , including carriers of the adult tapeworm, infected pigs, and eggs in the environment.

Malaria remains a serious threat to children under 15 years of age in sub-Sahara Africa. Mass testing, treatment and tracking (MTTT) of malaria has been reported to reduce parasite load significantly. However, the impact of MTTT on the prevalence of febrile illnesses in children under 15 is not yet clear. This study explores the impact of MTTT complemented by prompt home-based management of malaria on febrile illnesses and their treatment in children under 15 years old.

Despite the fact that chronic diseases usually occur together with a spectrum of possible comorbidities that may differ strongly between patients, they are classically still viewed as distinct disease entities and, consequently, are often treated with uniform therapies. Unfortunately, such an approach does not take into account that different combinations of symptoms and comorbidities may result from different pathological (e.g., environmental, genetic, dietary, etc.) factors, which require specific and individualised therapeutic strategies. In this opinion paper, we aim to put forward a more differentiated, systems medicine approach to disease and patient treatment. To elaborate on this concept, we focus on the interplay of tinnitus, depression, and chronic pain. In our view, these conditions can be characterised by a variety of phenotypes composed of variable sets of symptoms and biomarkers, rather than distinct disease entities. The knowledge of the interplay of such symptoms and biomarkers will provide the key to a deeper, mechanistic understanding of disease pathologies. This paves the way for prediction and prevention of disease pathways, including more personalised and effective treatment strategies.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder in which the pancreas secretes insulin but the body cells do not recognize it. As a result, carbohydrate metabolism causes hyperglycemia, which may be fatal for various organs. This disease is increasing day by day and it is prevalent among people of all ages, including young adults and children. Acarbose and miglitol are famous alpha-glucosidase inhibitors but they complicate patients with the problems of flatulence, pain, bloating, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. To overcome these challenges, it is crucial to discover new anti-diabetic drugs with minimal side effects. For this purpose, benzotriazinone sulfonamides were synthesized and their structures were characterized by FT-IR, H-NMR and C-NMR spectroscopy. alpha-glucosidase inhibition studies of all synthesized hybrids were conducted using the spectrophotometric method. The synthesized compounds revealed moderate-to-good inhibition activity; in particular, nitro derivatives and were found to be the most effective inhibitors against this enzyme, with IC values of 32.37 ± 0.15 µM and 37.75 ± 0.11 µM. In silico studies, including molecular docking as well as DFT analysis, also strengthened the experimental findings. Both leading compounds and showed strong hydrogen bonding interactions within the enzyme cavity. DFT studies also reinforced the strong binding interactions of these derivatives with biological molecules due to their lowest chemical hardness values and lowest orbital energy gap values.

Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) is a debilitating disease manifest by severe cholestasis, intractable pruritus and growth delay that ultimately leads to liver failure or transplantation. Maralixibat (MRX) was recently approved for the treatment of cholestatic pruritus in patients with Alagille syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine whether specific changes in the composition of the serum bile acid metabolome could predict pruritus response to treatment. Serum BAs (sBA) and 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (7α-C4), a surrogate marker of BA synthesis, were monitored by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry over 72 weeks in PFIC patients with mild to moderate non-truncating bile salt export pump (BSEP) mutations ( = 19) treated with MRX. The weekly itch reported outcome observer (ItchRO[Obs]) score measured pruritus severity. Linear mixed models (LMM) were applied to explore the effects of individual sBA profiles and their relationship to pruritus response. Changes in the composition of sBA correlated with pruritus improvement. Notably, the trajectory of serum total and individual BA species and 7α-C4 were significantly associated with ItchRO[Obs] score ( < 0.05). These results reveal that beyond simple total sBA concentrations, specific changes to the BA metabolome are associated with pruritus reduction in patients with BSEP deficiency, thus providing further insight into causal relationship of bile acids and pruritus.

Lappaconitine (LA) is a C-18 diterpene alkaloid isolated from Nakai that has been shown to relieve mild to moderate discomfort. Various researchers have tried to explain the underlying mechanism of LA's effects on chronic pain. This article uses metabolomics technology to investigate the metabolite alterations in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) when lappaconitine hydrobromide (LAH) was injected in an inflammatory pain model, to explain the molecular mechanism of its analgesia from a metabolomics perspective. The pain model used in this study was a complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced inflammatory pain model in rats. There were two treatment groups receiving different dosages of LAH (4 mg/kg LAH and 8 mg/kg LAH). The analgesic mechanism of LAH was investigated with an analgesic behavioral test, tissue sections, and metabolomics. The results of the analgesic behavioral experiment showed that both 4 mg/kg LAH and 8 mg/kg LAH could significantly improve the paw withdrawal latency (PWL) of rats. The tissue section results showed that LAH could reduce the inflammatory response and enlargement of the paw and ankle of rats and that there was no significant difference in the tissue sections of the DRG. The metabolomics results showed that retinol metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism in the CFA-induced inflammatory pain model were significantly affected and may exacerbate the inflammatory reactions and initiate persistent pain; in addition, the linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism were also slightly affected. Among them, the alpha-linolenic acid metabolism was up-regulated after LAH treatment, while the retinol metabolism was down-regulated. These results suggest that LAH could effectively reduce inflammatory pain and might achieve this by regulating the lipid metabolism in the rat DRG.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a pain syndrome characterized by chronic widespread pain and CNS comorbidities. var. is a medicinal species used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and acute or chronic pain. However, its spectrum of analgesic efficacy for dysfunctional pain is unknown. To investigate a possible therapeutic alternative for FM-type pain, an aqueous extract (TE) and its flavonoid fraction (FF) containing rutin and isoquercitrin were evaluated alone and/or combined with clinical drugs (tramadol-TRA and pramipexol-PRA) using the reserpine-induced FM model in rats. Chromatographic analysis allowed the characterization of flavonoids, while a histological analysis confirmed their presence in the brain. TE (10-100 mg/kg, i.p.) and FF (10-300 mg/kg, i.p.) produced significant and dose-dependent antihyperalgesic and antiallodynic effects equivalent to TRA (3-10 mg/kg, i.p.) or PRA (0.01-1 mg/kg, s.c.). Nevertheless, the combination of FF + TRA or FF + PRA resulted in an antagonistic interaction by possible competitive action on the serotonin transporter or µ-opioid and D receptors, respectively, according to the analysis. Flavonoids were identified in cerebral regions because of their self-epifluorescence. In conclusion, possesses potential properties to relieve FM-type pain. However, the consumption of this plant or flavonoids such as quercetin derivatives in combination with analgesic drugs might reduce their individual benefits.

Little is known on the characteristics of headaches associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Indonesia. The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of headache in post-COVID-19 patients, and its impact on the patients' quality of life (QoL), as well as to determine the associated determinants of the poor QoL. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The demographic characteristics, clinical symptoms of COVID-19, characteristics of headache, and the QoL were collected and assessed. Headache was diagnosed and characterized using the International Classification of Headache Disorders, version 3 (ICHD-3). QoL was assessed using a Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) tool. A logistic regression model was used to investigate the associated determinants of poor QoL in post-COVID-19 patients. A total of 215 post-COVID-19 patients were included in the final analysis, and 21.4% (46/215) of them had a poor QoL due to headache following COVID-19. Those who were unemployed and who contracted COVID-19 less than three months prior to the study had higher odds of having poor QoL compared to those who were employed and who contracted COVID-19 more than three months prior to the study. Low QoL was also related to headache that occurred less than one month after recovering from COVID-19 (compared to that which occurred longer than one month after); had a high frequency; had a combination sensation of pulsating, pressing, fiery, and stabbing pain; had a high severity score; and had additional symptoms accompanying the headache. In conclusion, headache related to COVID-19 is associated with low QoL among post-COVID-19 patients. A guideline on prevention measures of headache on COVID-19 patients, therefore, needs to be established to avoid long-term consequences.

: The aim of this study was to determine whether a non-contact sensor that detects complexion changes can be used to assess the psychological state of patients with chronic lower back pain (LBP). : Twenty-six patients with LBP (LBP group; mean age = 68.0 ± 13.9 years) and 18 control subjects without LBP (control group; mean age = 60.8 ± 16.1 years) were included in the study. All the subjects in the two groups wore headphones when asked LBP-related and LBP-unrelated questions. During questioning, the facial image of the subjects was captured using a video camera, and the complexion of the subjects was converted into red, green, and blue (RGB) values. RGB correlation coefficients (RGBCCs; range: 0-1) represent the difference in complexion between LBP-related and LBP-unrelated questions. A high RGBCC indicates that the brain is more activated by LBP-related questions than by LBP-unrelated questions. We also noted the scores of subjects on the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Japanese Orthopedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). : There were no significant differences in RGBCC between the control and LBP groups (0.64 versus 0.56, = 0.08). In the LBP group, no correlation was observed between RGBCC and each examination item of NRS, JOABPEQ, and HADS. In contrast, a correlation was observed between RGBCC and the rumination subscale of PCS in the LBP group (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient = 0.40, = 0.04). : The complexion of patients with catastrophic thinking changes when the patients are asked LBP-related questions.