Publications
Lower levels of the circulating neuropeptide somatostatin in Schistosoma mansoni infected patients may have pathological significance
Chatterjee S, Mbaye A, Van Marck E
Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2003, 8:33-36 (PMID : 12535248)
In recent years, cases of severe morbidity (fibrosis, haematemesis, hepatosplenomegaly, ascites) caused to Schistosoma mansoni infections are on the rise in Northern Senegal. The neuropeptide somatostatin is reported to decrease portal pressure, control variceal bleeding and fibrosis, and reduce Schistosoma-caused clinical morbidity in the rodent model. The aim of this study was to delineate the role of somatostatin in S. mansoni-caused pathogenesis, by studying host levels of somatostatin in the peripheral blood of uninfected and S. mansoni-infected individuals. Subjects from the district dispensary at Richard Toll, in the Medical Region of Saint-Louis, Senegal, infected with S. mansoni and suffering from severe morbidity were selected. A separate group consisted of individuals resident in the same region but uninfected at the time of the study. Significantly lower somatostatin levels were detected in severe morbidity patients, compared with the exposed but uninfected subjects. In patients with schistosomiasis physiological levels of somatostatin may determine disposition of particular individuals towards severe morbidity, as opposed to others. Host pathology can thus be alleviated by the therapeutic ability of somatostatin to treat bleeding oesophageal varices, reduce portal pressure and prevent progression to severe fibrosis.
Malaria coinfection in children influences antibodies response to vaccinal candidate against schistosomiasis and inflammatory markers associated with morbidity
Remoue F., Diallo T.O., Angeli V., Hervé M., de Clercq D., Schacht A.M., Charrier N., Capron M., Vercruysse J., Ly A., Capron A., and Riveau G
Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg, 2003, 97 : 361-364 (PMID : )
Low awareness of intestinal schistosomiasis in northern Senegal after 7 years of health education as part of intense control and research activities
Sow S, de Vlas SJ, Mbaye A, Polman K, Gryseels B.
Tropical Medicine and International Health, 2003, 8(8):744-9 (PMID : 12869097)
We evaluated the awareness of and knowledge about intestinal schistosomiasis in a highly infected rural community of northern Senegal where a variety of health information and education activities had taken place for 7 years as a component of different research and control programmes. As the infection had been introduced only recently, an initial 'zero' knowledge can be assumed. Most of the health education activities had been performed with adapted messages through local health and community workers. By a questionnaire, 566 individuals were asked simple questions on symptoms, mode of transmission, the sources of information and health-seeking behaviour. About 86% of the respondents stated that they knew what schistosomiasis was, and 92% that in case of illness they would seek treatment at the health centre. However, only half of the people accurately quoted symptoms associated with intestinal schistosomiasis: diarrhoea, abdominal pain and bloody stools. The majority of respondents realized that the disease was somehow linked with water and (lack of) hygiene, but only 44% of respondents reported water contact as the source of infection. Ultimately, only 30% of the respondents gave adequate answers about both symptoms and mode of transmission. We conclude that even intense and long-lasting education efforts for a specific and straightforward problem as schistosomiasis are not enough to have profound impact on the knowledge of rural traditional communities.
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