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Acta Trop 2020 Jul 3:105618. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates.

Acanthamoeba spp. are free living amoeba (FLA) which are widely distributed in nature. They are opportunistic parasites and can cause severe infections to the eye, skin and central nervous system. Read More

Am J Case Rep 2020 Jun 30;21:e923219. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Hematology, St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

BACKGROUND Acanthamoeba are free-living amoebae with potential to infect immunocompromised hosts. The mortality rate of granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE) due to Acanthamoeba exceeds 90% and there are currently no reports of survival of this infection in recipients of hematopoietic stem cell transplant. CASE REPORT We report herein the case of a 32-year-old man presenting to our service with abrupt neurological deterioration and seizures 5 months after allogeneic stem cell transplantation for Hodgkin lymphoma. Read More

Chem Biol Drug Des 2020 Jun 30. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Aga Khan University, Pakistan.

Acanthamoeba spp. cause a corneal infection, Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK), and a cerebral infection, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). Though aggressive chemotherapy has been able to kill the active trophozoite form of Acanthamoeba, the encysted form of this parasite has remained problematic to resist physiological concentrations of drugs. Read More

Genome Biol Evol 2020 Jun 30. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Departamento de Infectómica y Patogénesis Molecular, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Ciudad de México, México.

Peroxisomes perform various metabolic processes that are primarily related to the elimination of reactive oxygen species and oxidative lipid metabolism. These organelles are present in all major eukaryotic lineages, nevertheless, information regarding the presence of peroxisomes in opportunistic parasitic protozoa is scarce and in many cases it is still unknown whether these organisms have peroxisomes at all. Here, we performed ultrastructural, cytochemical and bioinformatic studies to investigate the presence of peroxisomes in three genera of free-living amoebae from two different taxonomic groups that are known to cause fatal infections in humans. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020 Jun 29. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Laboratório de Vírus, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Departamento de Microbiologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG 31270-901, Brazil;

Here we report the discovery of Yaravirus, a lineage of amoebal virus with a puzzling origin and evolution. Yaravirus presents 80-nm-sized particles and a 44,924-bp dsDNA genome encoding for 74 predicted proteins. Yaravirus genome annotation showed that none of its genes matched with sequences of known organisms at the nucleotide level; at the amino acid level, six predicted proteins had distant matches in the nr database. Read More

Iran J Parasitol 2020 Apr-Jun;15(2):272-277

Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Uludag University, Bursa, Turkey.

species are vision-threatening agents by causing cornea infections known as keratitis. A 5 year-old kid with the complaints of erythema, eyelid edema, inflammation, limitation of eye movements in the right eye, and having no history of wearing contact lenses or trauma, was diagnosed of conjunctivitis through laboratory examinations in the Ophthalmology clinic. The visual sharpness of the patient improved after the treatment. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Jun 25;10(1):10362. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Institute of Specific Prophylaxis und Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Acanthamoebae are potentially pathogenic organisms, with a highly unique, yet still insufficiently investigated metabolism. Many open questions can be addressed by gene expression studies, however, for Acanthamoeba reliable standards have not yet been established. In this study, suitable reference genes (RGs) for RT-qPCR in Acanthamoeba were comprehensively evaluated, comparing different Acanthamoeba strains and employing four different algorithms (NormFinder, GeNorm, BestKeeper and RefFinder). Read More

Br J Ophthalmol 2020 Jun 24. Epub 2020 Jun 24.

Division of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

Background/aims: To examine the incidence, causative microorganisms and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance profiles of infectious keratitis (IK) in Nottingham, UK.

Methods: A retrospective study of all patients who were diagnosed with IK and underwent corneal scraping between July 2007 and October 2019 (a 12-year period) at a UK tertiary referral centre. Relevant data, including demographic factors, microbiological profiles and in vitro antibiotic susceptibility of IK, were analysed. Read More

Pharmaceutics 2020 Jun 18;12(6). Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Department of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, 28805 Madrid, Spain.

Cationic carbosilane dendrimers are branched molecules with antimicrobial properties. Their activity has been tested against , a causative agent of keratitis, a severe ocular disease in humans. trophozoites and cysts were exposed to different noncytotoxic cationic carbosilane dendrimers with proven antiamoebic activity. Read More

Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep 2020 Sep 10;19:100778. Epub 2020 Jun 10.

Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 600 N Wolfe St, Wilmer, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA.

Purpose: To describe two cases of keratitis in contact lens wearers misdiagnosed as keratitis.

Observations: Case 1 is a 54-year-old male that was misdiagnosed with keratitis who developed advanced keratitis. His treatment course was complex and involved both medical therapy and surgical intervention with poor resolution. Read More

Arch Soc Esp Oftalmol 2020 Jun 17. Epub 2020 Jun 17.

Unidad de Superficie e inflamación ocular, Departamento de Oftalmología, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, España.

Purpose: Neurotrophic corneal ulcers are difficult to treat, and the conventional treatment often results in failure. A new matrix regenerating agent ("ReGeneraTing Agents"), Cacicol® (Laboratoires Théa), has demonstrated good results over the last few years. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the response to Cacicol® in a series of cases with neurotrophic corneal ulcers. Read More

Pathogens 2020 Jun 16;9(6). Epub 2020 Jun 16.

Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, 30602, GA, USA.

Pathogenic free-living amoebae, , , and several species are the etiological agents of severe brain diseases, with case mortality rates > 90%. A number of constraints including misdiagnosis and partially effective treatments lead to these high fatality rates. The unmet medical need is for rapidly acting, highly potent new drugs to reduce these alarming mortality rates. Read More

ACS Omega 2020 Jun 18;5(21):12467-12475. Epub 2020 May 18.

Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates.

and are free-living amoebae that cause infection of the central nervous system, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), respectively. The fact that mortality rates for cases of GAE and PAM are more than 95% indicates the need for new therapeutic agents against those amoebae. Considering that curcumin exhibits a wide range of biological properties and has shown efficacy against , we evaluated the amoebicidal properties of curcumin against and . Read More

Pathogens 2020 Jun 9;9(6). Epub 2020 Jun 9.

Laboratorio de Amibas Anfizoicas, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala (FESI), Medicina, UNAM, Tlalnepantla 54090, Estado de México, México.

Amoebae of the genus are etiological agents of granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). Recently, through an in vivo GAE model, trophozoites were immunolocalized in contact with the peripheral nervous system (PNS) cells-Schwann cells (SC). In this study, we analyzed in greater detail the in vitro early morphological events (1, 2, 3, and 4 h) during the interaction of trophozoites (ATCC 30171) with SC from (ATCC CRL-2941). Read More

Pathogens 2020 Jun 5;9(6). Epub 2020 Jun 5.

R&D Department, Amoéba, 69680 Chassieu, France.

is a human pathogen responsible for a severe form of pneumonia named Legionnaire disease. Its natural habitat is aquatic environments, being in a free state or intracellular parasites of free-living amoebae, such as . This pathogen is able to replicate within some amoebae. Read More

Pathogens 2020 Jun 4;9(6). Epub 2020 Jun 4.

TReD-Path Unit (Transmission, Réservoirs et Diversité des Pathogènes), LEMic (Laboratoire Interactions des Ecosystèmes Microbiens), Institut Pasteur de la Guadeloupe, Morne Jolivière, 97183 Abymes, France.

Free-living amoebae (FLA) are ubiquitous protists. Pathogenic FLA such as can be found in hot springs in Guadeloupe, soil being the origin of this contamination. Herein, we analyzed the diversity and distribution of FLA in soil using a targeted metataxonomic analysis. Read More

Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2020 Sep 26;193:111148. Epub 2020 May 26.

Department of Surfactants and Nanobiotechnology, IQAC-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address:

Nowadays, infections caused by fungi and protists constitute a serious problem for public health services. The limited number of treatment options coupled with the increasing number of resistant microorganisms makes necessary the development of new non-toxic antifungal and antiprotozoal agents. Cationic amino acid-based rhamnolipids have been recently prepared by our group and exhibited good antibacterial activity. Read More

Int J Parasitol Drugs Drug Resist 2020 Jun 2;13:59-72. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, LE12 5RD, UK. Electronic address:

The effect of Camellia sinensis (green tea) on the growth of Acanthamoeba castellanii trophozoites was examined using a microplate based-Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay. C. sinensis hot and cold brews at 75% and 100% concentrations significantly inhibited the growth of trophozoites. Read More

J Parasit Dis 2020 Jun 17;44(2):491-495. Epub 2020 Feb 17.

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.

The present study evaluated the in vitro efficacy of miltefosine against cysts of spp. belonging to genotypes T3, T4 and T5. Each genotype was incubated with miltefosine at the concentration of 2. Read More

Biocontrol Sci 2020 ;25(2):73-80

Faculty of Environment Engineering, University of Kitakyushu.

Acanthamoeba is one of the organisms that cause corneal infection. In this study, attention was focused on potassium isostearate (iso-C18K, a branched chain fatty acid salt) for use in a multipurpose solution (MPS) against Acanthamoeba. An anti-amoebic test against Acanthamoeba castellanii ATCC 30010 (trophozoites type) was conducted. Read More

Eur J Ophthalmol 2020 Jun 8:1120672120932093. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Central Eye Bank of Iran, Tehran, Iran.

Purpose: Investigating impression cytology (IC) results of various types of clinically suspected ocular surface lesions over a 14-year period in a referral center in Iran.

Methods: IC findings obtained from patients with different types of ocular surface disorders between 2005 and 2018 were reviewed. Agreement between clinical suspicions and IC results was evaluated by calculating Cohen's Kappa coefficient (CKC). Read More

Sci Rep 2020 Jun 2;10(1):8954. Epub 2020 Jun 2.

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Acanthamoeba, a genus that contains at least 24 species of free-living protozoa, is ubiquitous in nature. Successful treatment of Acanthamoeba infections is always very difficult and not always effective. More effective drugs must be developed, and medicinal plants may have a pivotal part in the future of drug discovery. Read More

Parasitol Res 2020 Jul 1;119(7):2327-2335. Epub 2020 Jun 1.

Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 269999, United Arab Emirates.

Acanthamoeba castellanii is a free-living amoeba which can cause a blinding keratitis and fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. The treatment of Acanthamoeba infections is challenging due to formation of cyst. Quinazolinones are medicinally important scaffold against parasitic diseases. Read More

Ocul Immunol Inflamm 2020 May 29:1-9. Epub 2020 May 29.

Anne Bates Leach Eye Clinics, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine , Miami, Florida, USA.

Purpose: To report our experience with oral miltefosine (MLT) as an adjunct treatment for progressive keratitis (AK).

Methods: Retrospective case series of all patients who underwent treatment with oral MLT for AK at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from 2017 to 2020.

Results: Six females from 16 to 55 years old, with a microbiologic diagnosis of , were treated with MLT and standard medical treatment. Read More

Microorganisms 2020 May 25;8(5). Epub 2020 May 25.

Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias (IUETSPC), Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), Avda. Astrofísico Fco. Sánchez s/n, 38203 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.

is an opportunistic pathogenic free-living amoeba which is able to rapidly colonize the central nervous system (CNS) and causes a lethal infection known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Furthermore, more than 98% of the known cases of PAM are fatal and affect mainly children under 12 and young adults. Until now, no fully effective therapeutic agents against are available and hence the urgent need to find novel agents to treat PAM. Read More

Antibiotics (Basel) 2020 May 25;9(5). Epub 2020 May 25.

Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, UAE.

The pathogenic free-living amoeba, , is responsible for a rare but deadly central nervous system infection, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and a blinding eye disease called keratitis. Currently, a combination of biguanides, amidine, azoles and antibiotics are used to manage these infections; however, the host cell cytotoxicity of these drugs remains a challenge. Furthermore, species are capable of transforming to the cyst form to resist chemotherapy. Read More

Indian J Ophthalmol 2020 Jun;68(6):1061-1066

Department of Ophthalmology, National Taiwan University Hospital; Center of Corneal Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Purpose: Radial keratoneuritis (RK) is a common feature of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is noninvasive and provides real-time images for the diagnosis of corneal diseases by allowing the visualization of corneal structures and morphologies of living organisms at the cellular level. Images of AK with RK obtained using commercial white light IVCM devices have not been frequently evaluated. Read More

Exp Parasitol 2020 May 24;215:107915. Epub 2020 May 24.

Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, 26666, United Arab Emirates.

Acanthamoeba castellanii is an opportunistic protozoan responsible for serious human infections including Acanthamoeba keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Despite advances in antimicrobial therapy and supportive care, infections due to Acanthamoeba are a major public concern. Current methods of treatment are not fully effective against both the trophozoite and cyst forms of A. Read More

Microbiology 2020 May 27. Epub 2020 May 27.

Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Biofilm-associated infections are difficult to eradicate because of their ability to tolerate antibiotics and evade host immune responses. Amoebae and/or their secreted products may provide alternative strategies to inhibit and disperse biofilms on biotic and abiotic surfaces. We evaluated the potential of five predatory amoebae - , , , and - and their cell-free secretions to disrupt biofilms formed by methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and . Read More

Pathogens 2020 May 22;9(5). Epub 2020 May 22.

Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, University City, Sharjah 26666, UAE.

Although major strides have been made in developing and testing various anti-acanthamoebic drugs, recurrent infections, inadequate treatment outcomes, health complications, and side effects associated with the use of currently available drugs necessitate the development of more effective and safe therapeutic regimens. For any new anti-acanthamoebic drugs to be more effective, they must have either superior potency and safety or at least comparable potency and an improved safety profile compared to the existing drugs. The development of the so-called 'next-generation' anti-acanthamoebic agents to address this challenge is an active area of research. Read More

Cornea 2020 May 21. Epub 2020 May 21.

Cornea Service, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Bhubaneswar, India.

Purpose: To compare the clinical profiles and outcomes of patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis with or without mixed bacterial infection.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of microbiologically confirmed AK cases presenting to a tertiary care center over a 9-year period was conducted. Fourteen eyes in the coinfected group (group 1) and 24 eyes in the AK group (group 2) were analyzed to study the differences in these 2 groups of patients. Read More

J Infect Chemother 2020 May 21. Epub 2020 May 21.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Kyorin University School of Medicine, 6-20-2 Shinkawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan; Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyorin University, 181-8612, 5-4-1 Shimorenjaku, Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan.

This study aimed to demonstrate whether Helicobacter pylori is able to survive in co-culture with a protozoan, Acanthamoeba castellanii, in order to further investigate a possible aqueous environmental mode of transmission. Numbers of H. pylori in co-culture with A castellanii were assessed by colony forming unit (CFU) assay and cell morphology was observed by electron microscopy. Read More

Eye Contact Lens 2020 Jul;46(4):223-227

Department of Ophthalmology (Y.J.J., S.K.J., J.S.L.), Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea; Department of Ophthalmology (J.L.), Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea; Medical Research Institute (J.S.L.), Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea; Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology (J.L.), Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Yangsan, Korea; and Department of Ophthalmology (J.L., J.S.L.), Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.

Purpose: To investigate the presentation, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) in Busan, South Korea, over a 5-year period.

Methods: This retrospective study involved a review of the medical records of 16 patients (19 eyes in total) who were diagnosed with AK, related to wearing contact lenses, at the tertiary hospital, Pusan National University Hospital at Busan City, from December 2013 to December 2018.

Results: Nineteen eyes of 16 patients with a diagnosis of AK were identified. Read More

Curr Eye Res 2020 Jun 29:1-6. Epub 2020 Jun 29.

Department of Ophthalmology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf , Düsseldorf, Germany.

Background And Purpose: In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is a non-invasive imaging technique that allows morphological analysis as a diagnostic approach of the cornea in real time, thus providing a suspected diagnosis of fungal or amoebic keratitis immediately, whereas culture or PCR require several days or even weeks. Since these infections are rare, it is difficult for ophthalmologists to gain the experience necessary to differentiate infection from normal findings or artefacts. The purpose of this project was to establish a simulator, on which physicians could practice as well as acquiring a database of IVCM images of fungal or amoebic keratitis and respective analyses. Read More

Klin Monbl Augenheilkd 2020 Jun 19;237(6):754-760. Epub 2020 May 19.

Klinik für Augenheilkunde, Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes Homburg/Saar.

Acanthamoeba keratitis is a "chameleon". It presents classically with greyish epithelial changes, perineuritis, superficial multifocal stromal infiltrates and ring infiltrate. In the presence of clinical signs, polymerase chain reaction, in vitro culture or histopathological examination have to be used to confirm the diagnosis. Read More

Korean J Parasitol 2020 Apr 30;58(2):191-194. Epub 2020 Apr 30.

Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea.

Free-living amoebas (FLAs) can cause severe disease in humans and animals when they become infected. However, there are no accurate survey reports on the prevalence of FLAs in Korea. In this study, we collected 163 tap water samples from buildings, apartments, and restrooms of highway service areas in 7 Korean provinces with high population density. Read More

Microbiol Resour Announc 2020 May 14;9(20). Epub 2020 May 14.

Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

bacterium STE3 and sp. strain AcF84 are obligate intracellular symbionts of spp. isolated from the biofilm of a littoral cave wall and gills from striped tiger leaf fish, respectively. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Jun 19;723:138033. Epub 2020 Mar 19.

College of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. Electronic address:

Non-point stormwater runoff is a major contamination source of receiving waterbodies. Heightened incidence of waterborne disease outbreaks related to recreational use and source water contamination is associated with extreme rainfall events. Such extreme events are predicted to increase in some regions due to climate change. Read More

Parasitol Res 2020 Jun 9;119(6):1943-1954. Epub 2020 May 9.

Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science and Technology, Sunway University, 47500, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Acanthamoeba causes diseases such as Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) which leads to permanent blindness and granulomatous Acanthamoeba encephalitis (GAE) where there is formation of granulomas in the brain. Current treatments such as chlorhexidine, diamidines, and azoles either exhibit undesirable side effects or require immediate and prolonged treatment for the drug to be effective or prevent relapse. Previously, antifungal drugs amphotericin B, nystatin, and fluconazole-conjugated silver with nanoparticles have shown significantly increased activity against Acanthamoeba castellanii. Read More

Pathogens 2020 May 5;9(5). Epub 2020 May 5.

Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de Canarias and Departamento de Obstetricia, Ginecología, Pediatría, Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública, Toxicología, Medicina Legal y Forense y Parasitología, Universidad de La Laguna. Av. Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez S/N, 38203 Tenerife, Spain.

Free living, cosmopolitan amoebae from genus present a serious risk to human health. As facultative human parasites, these amoebae may cause keratitis (AK). keratitis is a severe, vision-threatening corneal infection with non-specific symptoms. Read More

Clin Exp Optom 2020 Jul 4;103(4):408-417. Epub 2020 May 4.

School of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Microbial keratitis is a rare but potentially severe sight-threatening condition, associated with societal burden, cost and morbidity. Compared with microbial keratitis without lens wear, the disease in contact lens wear is more common, occurs at an earlier age, has lower morbidity and is more often caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acanthamoeba spp. Resistance to common antibiotics is infrequent in contact lens-related isolates and there is little evidence to suggest increasing bacterial resistance over time. Read More

Pathogens 2020 Apr 26;9(5). Epub 2020 Apr 26.

UMR CNRS 7267 Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions, Université de Poitiers, Pôle Biologie-Santé, Bât. B36/B37, 1 rue Georges Bonnet, TSA 51106, 86073 Poitiers Cedex 9, France.

is a ubiquitous free-living amoeba. Pathogenic strains are causative agents of keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. In response to adverse conditions, differentiate into cysts, which are metabolically inactive and resistant cells. Read More

mSphere 2020 04 29;5(2). Epub 2020 Apr 29.

Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

and are pathogenic fungi that cause significant morbidity and mortality. Cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) is a biophysical parameter that influences the adhesion of fungal cells or spores to biotic and abiotic surfaces. is encased by polysaccharide capsule that is highly hydrophilic and is a critical determinant of virulence. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 Jul 28;27(19):24568-24573. Epub 2020 Apr 28.

University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Free-living amoebae (FLA) including Acanthamoeba spp., Naegleria fowleri, and Balamuthia mandrillaris are among the many waterborne parasites. There is not much known about the possible FLA contamination of the irrigation resources watering crops and agricultural lands in this country. Read More

Pathogens 2020 Apr 15;9(4). Epub 2020 Apr 15.

College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, Australia.

is an opportunistic waterborne pathogen of public health concern. It is the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease (LD) and Pontiac fever and is ubiquitous in manufactured water systems, where protozoan hosts and complex microbial communities provide protection from disinfection procedures. This review collates the literature describing interactions between and protozoan hosts in hospital and municipal potable water distribution systems. Read More

Infect Disord Drug Targets 2020 Apr 22. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran. Iran.

Background: Acanthamoebiasis treatment is a major and challenging problem due to the presence of resistant cyst form. Many herbal extracts and their derivatives have been used against trophozoites and cysts of Acanthamoeba, but no effective therapeutic agent has yet been discovered. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Rumex obtusifolius (R. Read More

J Family Med Prim Care 2020 Feb 28;9(2):1240-1243. Epub 2020 Feb 28.

Department of Medicine, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

are ubiquitous free-living amoeba. Acanthamoeba infections cause necrotizing vasculitis, resulting in vessel thrombosis and cerebral infarction. Acanthamoeba CNS infections, though uncommon, are associated with high mortality. Read More

Biology (Basel) 2020 Apr 17;9(4). Epub 2020 Apr 17.

Department of Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, American University of Sharjah, University City 26666, UAE.

Cancer recurrence has remained a significant challenge, despite advances in therapeutic approaches. In part, this is due to our incomplete understanding of the biology of cancer stem cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms. The phenomenon of differentiation and dedifferentiation (phenotypic switching) is not only unique to stem cells but it is also observed in several other organisms, as well as evolutionary-related microbes. Read More

Pathog Glob Health 2020 May 21;114(4):194-204. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

School of Allied Health Sciences, Southeast Asia Water Team (SEA Water Team) and World Union for Herbal Drug Discovery (WUHeDD), Walailak University , Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand.

Curcuma Longa: () rhizome extract has been traditionally used to treat many infections. Curcumin, a pure compound isolated from the plant, has been documented to possess a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Thai medicinal plant extracts including extract and Curcumin on , a causative agent of human keratitis. Read More

J Ophthalmic Vis Res 2020 Apr-Jun;15(2):128-137. Epub 2020 Apr 6.

Department of Ophthalmology, Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Purpose: To determine the causative organisms and associated risk factors for infectious keratitis in South Texas.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed at a tertiary teaching hospital system in South Texas. Medical records of all patients who presented with infectious keratitis from 2012 to 2018 were reviewed. Read More