Active clinical trials for "Helminthiasis"

In this study, it is hypothesized that helminth infections modulate immune responses against HIV-1 infection resulting into increased HIV-1 multiplication, faster progression to AIDS and increased episodes of AIDS-related opportunistic infections. Furthermore, the effect of helminth infections on progression of HIV-1 infection is dependent on helminth infection intensity, host background immunity, nutritional status, demographic factors and socio-economic status. Also, treatment of helminth infections using praziquantel and albendazole among HIV-1 infected individuals will lead to reduction in HIV-1 viral loads, improvement of CD4+ counts, CD4+/CD8+ ratio and Hb levels, improved weight gain and reduction of episodes of HIV-1 related opportunistic infections. In addition, HIV-1 infection is associated with poor anthelminthic treatment outcome as compared to non-HIV infected individuals

Current efforts to control schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthes infections focus on the school-age population, and school-based treatment delivery programs offer a major cost advantages because of the use of the existing school infrastructure and the fact that schoolchildren are accessible through schools. However, in many developing countries, large numbers of school-age children are not in school and this has raised questions about the effectiveness of school-based programs in reaching non-enrolled children. Increasingly, the non-formal education sector is providing a growing solution to the problem of poor enrolment in basic education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and has recently been used to deliver praziquantel as part of a national schistosomiasis control program in Uganda. However, it is unclear how effective this program has been in reaching children who attend non-formal schools and whether the program has been reaching children from the poorest households.

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are a group of parasitic worms that infect millions of children in sub-tropical and tropical countries, resulting in malnutrition, growth stunting, intellectual retardation and cognitive deficits. To control the morbidity due to these worms, school-based deworming programs are implemented, in which anthelminthic drugs are administered to children without prior diagnosis. The continued fight against these worms is aided by the London declaration on neglected tropical diseases, which helps sustain and expand global drug donation program, resulting in an unprecedented growth of deworming programs. However, the high degree of drug pressure makes deworming programs vulnerable to the development of anthelmintic resistance because they only rely on one drug with sometimes suboptimal efficacy and there is no availability of alternative drugs. Moreover, at present, there is no surveillance system to monitor the emergence and spread of anthelmintic resistance. It remains unclear to what extent the efficacy of drugs may have dropped and whether anthelmintic resistance is already present. This project aims to strengthen the monitoring and surveillance of drug efficacy and anthelmintic resistance in STH programs. As such, it will support deworming programs in their quest to eliminate STHs as a public health problem. The overall aim of this study is to pilot a surveillance system to assess anthelmintic drug efficacy and the emergence of AR in 9 countries were drug pressure has been high over a long period of time. The specific objectives are to: Assess the prevalence of moderate/heavy intensity infections of the different STH Assess the drug efficacy of a single dose of BZ drugs against STH infections in these countries Assess the frequency of the ß-tubulin SNPs linked to BZ resistance Identify implementation-related barriers and opportunities for monitoring drug efficacy and AR in national PC programs for STH. Expand the Starworms repository of STH field samples

Mucosal immunology during helminth infection

Mucosal immunology during helminth infection

Purpose: To examine whether helminth infection during pregnancy alters Vitamin-D-metabolism and reactivity of the child's immune system Hypothesis: Helminth infection during pregnancy is associated with altered Vitamin D levels and Vitamin D receptor expression in the placenta and modified immune reactivity in the infant.

The purpose of this study is to determine if Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy, ACT,(artemether-lumefantrine) used as intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) alone or in combination with praziquantel, will have any effects on anemia, malaria, schistosomiasis and school sustained attention and concentration.

Mass drug administration (MDA) of albendazole (ABZ) to school-age and pre-school-age children is the currently recommended strategy for controlling soil-transmitted helminthiasis (STH) in endemic areas. Recent mathematical modelling suggests that community-wide MDA will be required in order to interrupt transmission of STH. DEWORM3 aims to determine the feasibility of eliminating STH through expanded and intensified MDA strategies. In order to ensure rigorous trial results, it is crucial that the definition of such MDA coverage is informed by unbiased, empirical data. The Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil (CIVETAN) and Instituto de Investigaciones en Enfermedades Tropicales Universidad Nacional de Salta collaborate on scientific research related to pharmacokinetic studies of ABZ. This proposal describes the request for funding from DEWORM3 to conduct a study of the serum pharmacokinetic characteristics and urinary excretion of ABZ and its metabolites in non-infected human volunteers to better understand the use of urinary analysis of ABZ as a measure of MDA adherence in the context of DEWORM3.

Approximately 3,500 people will participate per year. The study population will include females and males over 5 years of age who live in filariasis endemic areas. The study will be performed in Indonesia in B. timori and W. bancrofti endemic areas over a period of 4 years. Participants will be studied only once in cross-sectional surveys. Some subjects may be included in more than one annual population survey, but this is not a longitudinal study. Purpose of the study is to evaluate different mass drug administration (MDA) regimens for lymphatic filariasis and also to study the impact of MDA on soil transmitted helminth infections (STH). MDA will administered by others (e.g., Ministry of Health). Results of this study may enhance efforts to control and eliminate these important neglected tropical diseases. The investigators will test the hypothesis that accelerated mass drug administration will be superior to annual MDA for elimination of lymphatic filariasis and for control of soil transmitted helminth infections (STH): Compare the relative impact and cost effectiveness of annual vs. twice yearly mass drug administration (MDA) for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF). Study the impact of annual vs. semiannual MDA on soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection in these populations.

Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminhtiasis occur throughout the developing world and are most prevalent in the poorest communitites. These worms have been linked to several nutritional and intellectual deficiencies in many endemic populations worldwide. Helminth control, though crucial has been neglected for varied reasons. Currently, interests towards the control of neglected diseases including schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths has been revived through many interventions including repeated chemotherapy to help improve public health outcomes and prevent long term morbidity. This will contribute to achieving several of the Millennium Development Goals at a favourable cost. A community-directed treatment of human schistosomiasis and STH in school-aged children in rural notrhern Ghana using praziquantel and albendazole is proposed. It is planned to test the hypothesis that community-based volunteers are non-inferior and more cost effective than rural school teachers at reaching school-aged children.