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Hidden Consequences Of Living In A Wormy World: Nematode‐Induced Immune Suppression Facilitates Tuberculosis Invasion In African Buffalo, Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Rampal S. Etienne, Gordon Luikart, Albano Beja-Pereira, Anna E. Jolles

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Most hosts are infected with multiple parasites, and responses of the immune system to co-occurring parasites may influence disease spread. Helminth infection can bias the host immune response toward a T-helper type 2 (Th2) over a type 1 (Th1) response, impairing the host’s ability to control concurrent intracellular microparasite infections and potentially modifying disease dynamics. In humans, immune-mediated interactions between helminths and microparasites can alter host susceptibility to diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria. However, the extent to which similar processes operate in natural animal populations and influence disease spread remains unknown.We used cross-sectional, experimental, and genetic studies …

The Design And Synthesis Of Novel Antimicrobial Agents For Use In The Battle Against Bacterial Resistance, Joshua Randal Brown

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

There is an ever increasing need to develop new antimicrobial agents with novel mechanisms of action. These new agents will help to combat the steady rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which are becoming more and more difficult to treat due to the dwindling number of antibiotics available to treat such organisms. This body of work brings to light the many ways in which medicinal chemistry plays a vital role in the discovery of novel antimicrobial agents. Chapter 1 is an introduction into antimicrobial agents. It provides a brief history of the discovery of antimicrobial agents, and delves into reasons why new …

The Hypericum Perforatum Herb As An Antimycobacterial Agent And Its Implications As An Additional Tuberculosis Medication, Trent W. Mortensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An immediate demand exists for new tuberculosis (TB) antibiotics due to the ever-increasing spread of drug-resistant strains. The drug-development process goes through four phases, the first (Phase 0) of which is to demonstrate and investigate drug effectiveness and toxicity. This research investigated the effectiveness of the Hypericum perforatum herb (commonly St. John's wort (SJW)) in its growth inhibition of mycobacteria and its viability effect on human lung cells.

Organic-solvent SJW extracts were effective at inhibiting every nonpathogenic genetically sequenced Mycobacterium isolate currently available (six isolates) in preliminary studies. Quantitative studies of five Mycobacterium isolates showed an order of concentration sensitivity …

Robert Koch, Creation, And The Specificity Of Germs, Alan L. Gillen, Douglas Oliver, Frank Sherwin

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Microbiology is dominated by evolution today. Just look at any text, journal article, or the topics presented at professional scientific meetings. Darwin is dominant.

Microbiology is dominated by evolution today. Just look at any text, journal article, or the topics presented at professional scientific meetings. Darwin is dominant. Many argue that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution” (Dobzhansky 1973). But it was not always this way. In fact, a review of the major founders of microbiology has shown that they were creationists.1 We would argue that a better idea thanevolution and one of much …

Tuberculosis Awareness And Public Opinion On Expanding Health Insurance Coverage, Belal A. Saadeh Phd, Msn, Rn

Dissertations

This quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study examined the effect of TB awareness and demographic variables on the level of support for expanding health insurance coverage for all residents, including undocumented immigrants. A modified 13-item tool developed by Morisky et al. (1990) was used to measure TB awareness; a single item created by the researcher assessed personal opinion regarding expansion of health insurance coverage; and a demographic questionnaire was used to collect data from 281 registered voters in San Diego County. The majority of San Diego County voters participating in the study supported at least some expansion of health insurance coverage. ANOVA …

Serum Adenosine Deaminase Activity And The Total Antioxidant Capacity Of Plasma In Pulmonary Tuberculosis And Non-Tuberculosis Pulmonary Disease, Mohammad Naderi, Mohammad Hashemi, Ali Mehdizadeh, Hamid Mehrabifar, Hamid Reza Kouhpayeh, Hossein Ansari, Gholamreza Bahari, Saeid Ghavami

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

The aim of this study was to investigate the level of serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) and the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), non-tuberculosis pulmonary disease (non-PTB) and healthy subjects. Materials and methods: Serum ADA activity was measured using the Giusti and Galanti method, and the total antioxidant capacity of plasma was determined by the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) test. Results: The serum ADA levels were significantly higher (P < 0.001) in pulmonary TB (PTB, 19.78 ± 7.09 U/L), as well as in non-PTB patients (14.78 ± 4.65 U/L) when compared to healthy controls (10.02 ± 1.99 U/L). The sensitivity and specificity were found to be 71.7% and 63.3%, respectively, in distinguishing PTB from non-PTB. In distinguishing PTB from healthy subjects, the sensitivity and specificity were 87% and 93.3%, respectively. The TAC was significantly lower in PTB (485.2 ± 190.0 µM) and non-PTB patients (588.3 ± 195.8 µM), when compared to the controls (784.3 ± 190.0 µM; P < 0.001). Plasma antioxidative activity decreased in PTB and non-PTB patients when compared to the controls. Conclusion: We concluded that serum ADA activity is not a useful test to differentiate pulmonary TB from other respiratory diseases. The TAC is low in pulmonary TB, therefore supplementation with a suitable anti-oxidant may be useful.

Tuberculosis And Stigma: Impacts On Health-Seeking Behaviors And Access In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico And El Paso, Texas., Eva Margarita Moya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This exploratory research is a study of tuberculosis (TB) and health-related stigma which examines the experiences and perspectives on the disease from the vantage point of the Persons Affected by Tuberculosis (PATB). Research on the causes and sustainability of stigma will be useful to guide health and social interventions that reduce its effects. Also of importance is research that focuses on the behavioral and psychological as well as in the social context and dimensions of TB-related stigma. The personal experience of tuberculosis illustrates that an infectious disease entails much more than treatment involving medications, microbes and risk categories. Stigma associated …

The Rise Of The Surgical Age In The Treatment Of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Case Study Of The Mississippi State Sanatorium, Ashley Baggett

LSU Master's Theses

The historiography of tuberculosis, “TB,” covers four periods in the United States. During the Victorian Age, TB was classified as consumption. After Robert Koch’s discovery of the tubercle bacillus in the 1882, the germ theory took precedence. The early 1900s saw the rise of the Sanatorium Age, and finally, the antibiotic revolution of the 1940s and 1950s began the current understanding of the disease. Missing from this periodization is an era in which surgery took precedence as the preferred treatment for tuberculosis. This study corrects the historiography by arguing for a recognizable Surgical Age in the 1930s and 1940s. With …

Ccl2 Responses To Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Are Associated With Disease Severity In Tuberculosis, Zahra Hasan, Jacqueline M. Cliff, Hazel M. Dockrell, Bushra Jamil, Muhammad Irfan, Mussarat Ashraf, Rabia Hussain

Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care

Background

Leucocyte activating chemokines such as CCL2, CCL3, and CXCL8 together with proinflammatory IFNγ, TNFα and downmodulatory IL10 play a central role in the restriction of M. tuberculosis infections, but is unclear whether these markers are indicative of tuberculosis disease severity.

Methodology

We investigated live M. tuberculosis- and M. bovis BCG- induced peripheral blood mononuclear cell responses in patients with tuberculosis (TB) and healthy endemic controls (ECs, n = 36). TB patients comprised pulmonary (PTB, n = 34) and extrapulmonary groups, subdivided into those with less severe localized extrapulmonary TB (L-ETB, n = 16) or severe disseminated ETB (D-ETB, …

The Effects Of The Transformations Of The Public Health System On Equality In Mexico, 1995-2002, N Linares, O López

English

Objectives: To identify the possible effects of reform interventions' on health equity in the states of Mexico between 1995 and 2002 and to analyze the characteristics of the inequalities and inequities in health.'

High Content Screening Identifies Decaprenyl-Phosphoribose 2’ Epimerase As A Target For Intracellular Antimycobacterial Inhibitors, Thierry Christophe, Mary Jackson, Hee Kyoung Jeon, Denis Fenistein, Monica Contreras-Dominguez, Jaeseung Kim, Auguste Genovesio, Jean-Philippe Carralot, Fanny Ewann, Eun Hye Kim, Sae Yeon Lee, Sunhee Kang, Min Jung Seo, Eun Jung Park, Henrieta Skovierová, Ha Pham, Giovanna Riccardi, Ji Youn Nam, Laurent Marsollier, Marie Kempf, Marie-Laure Joly-Guillou, Taegwon Oh, Won Kyung Shin, Zaesung No, Ulf Nehrbass, Roland Brosch, Stewart T. Cole

Faculty and Staff Publications

A critical feature of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB), is its ability to survive and multiply within macrophages, making these host cells an ideal niche for persisting microbes. Killing the intracellular tubercle bacilli is a key requirement for efficient tuberculosis treatment, yet identifying potent inhibitors has been hampered by labor-intensive techniques and lack of validated targets. Here, we present the development of a phenotypic cell-based assay that uses automated confocal fluorescence microscopy for high throughput screening of chemicals that interfere with the replication of M. tuberculosis within macrophages. Screening a library of 57,000 small molecules led …

Creation And The Germ Theory: How A Biblical Worldview Encouraged The Concept That Germs Make Us Sick, Alan L. Gillen, Douglas Oliver

Faculty Publications and Presentations

The news media writes frequently that germs cause disease. Infectious diseases such as swine flu, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, MRSA, multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, and AIDS have captured the national headlines in recent months. With each passing year, these headlines reveal that some new disease outbreak or plague threatens thousands of lives. For example, in 2009 the news flash “Swine Flu Threatens the Globe” was broadcast across the nation, alarming many people. The emergence of a new strain of flu (H1N1) was said to place millions at risk.

A Pharmacokinetics And Pharmacodynamics (Pk/Pd) Guided Approach To Lead Optimization Of Nitrofuranylamide Anti-Tuberculosis Agents, Nageshwar Rao Budha

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Currently used treatment strategies for tuberculosis (TB) involve administration of multiple drug combinations for a minimum of 6-9 months. However, these prolonged regimens do not always achieve sterilization, as evidenced by post-therapy relapse in a subgroup of treated individuals. In an effort to develop novel therapeutic agents for TB a new class of chemical agents, nitrofuranylamides, is being developed at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. We hypothesized that the application of an iterative pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) guided approach would facilitate the optimization of nitrofuranylamide lead compounds suitable for further development.

First, we examined the biopharmaceutic properties and …

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Esat6-Induced Ifngamma And Cxcl9 Can Differentiate Severity Of Tuberculosis., Zahra Hasan, Bushra Jamil, Mussarat Ashraf, Muniba Islam, Muhammad S Yusuf, Javaid A Khan, Rabia Hussain

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Background: Protective responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis are dependent on appropriate T cell and macrophage activation. Mycobacterial antigen six kDa early secreted antigenic target (ESAT6) and culture filtrate protein 10 (CFP10) can detect M. tuberculosis specific IFNgamma responses. However, most studies have been performed in non-endemic regions and to study pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). We have studied ESAT6 and CFP10 induced cytokine and chemokines responses in PTB and extrapulmonary (EPul) TB.
Methodology: IFNgamma, IL10, CXCL9 and CCL2 responses were determined using an ex vivo whole blood assay system in PTB (n = 30) and EPulTB Patients with limited (LNTB, n = …

Lymphocyte Proliferation To Mycobacterial Antigens Is Detectable Across A Spectrum Of Hiv-Associated Tuberculosis, Timothy Lahey, Mecky Matee, Lillian Mtei, Muhammad Bakari, Kisali Pallangyo, C Fordham Von Reyn

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background:

Identifying novel TB diagnostics is a major public health priority. We explored the diagnostic characteristics of antimycobacterial lymphocyte proliferation assays (LPA) in HIV-infected subjects with latent or active TB.

Methods:

HIV-infected subjects with bacille Calmette Guérin (BCG) scars and CD4 counts ≥ 200 cells/mm³ entering a TB booster vaccine trial in Tanzania had baseline in vivo and in vitro immune tests performed: tuberculin skin tests (TST), LPA and five day assays of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release. Assay antigens were early secreted antigenic target 6 (ESAT-6), antigen 85 (Ag85), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis whole cell lysate (WCL). Subjects were screened …

Targeting Tuberculars: Social Stigma And Public Health Campaigns, Filomeno V. Aguilar Jr

History Department Faculty Publications

In the fight against tuberculosis one major obstacle is the social stigma associated with the disease. Stigma, which is both relational and contextual, marks the body of the tubercular as a site of danger. This essay reflects on the social history of tuberculosis and proposes that stigma’s contingent history in the Philippines can be traced to public health campaigns carried out during the twentieth century, which sought to segregate and isolate the tubercular to limit contagion but could not provide an effective cure. The stigmatization of tuberculosis persists at present, and public health campaigns may need to address stigma directly.

Case Study Of The Access To The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccine Against Tuberculosis In The United States, Dewan Raja

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine that is used worldwide to prevent tuberculosis. Some developed countries, such as the United States, do not routinely administer this vaccine. This article presents the case study of a family who struggled to obtain the BCG in the months before a planned trip to a country in which tuberculosis is prevalent. The application of the BCG vaccination and its availability in the United States, particularly for children, is discussed.

Tuberculosis In Developing Nations: Why New Drugs Need To Be Researched And Developed, Sarah Ott

Senior Honors Theses

Pharmacologic treatment for tuberculosis is widely available in developing nations, and is often financed by the governments of these countries. Treatment however can be highly toxic and require a lengthy duration of therapy. There are now many strains of tuberculosis that are drug resistant. People in impoverished nations frequently cannot afford to pay for transportation to and from treatment facilities. Research and development of new tuberculosis drugs is necessary given the presence of resistance and toxicity of the existing drugs. Newer agents that require shorter treatment duration with decreased toxicity and increased efficacy are most desirable and needed in developing …

Clinical Predictors Of Drug Resistance And Mortality Among Tuberculosis Patients In A Rural South African Hospital: A Case-Control Study, Jason Randolph Andrews

Yale Medicine Thesis Digital Library

The recent discovery of a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) in rural South Africa, where HIV is rampant, has provoked alarms about the future of tuberculosis control in the region. Little is known about the clinical manifestations of MDR-TB in general, and XDR-TB in particular, in the high HIV prevalence settings of Sub-Saharan Africa. We performed a retrospective, case-control study of patients diagnosed with tuberculosis at a rural hospital in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, where large numbers of MDR-TB and XDRTB cases have been identified. All MDR-TB and XDR-TB patients who began treatment for TB …

Uwomj Volume 78, Issue 2, Western University

University of Western Ontario Medical Journal

Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry

Modeling Transmission Dynamics Of Tuberculosis Including Various Latent Periods, Tracy Atkins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The systems of equations created by Blower et al. (1995) and Jia et al. (2007) designed to model the dynamics of Tuberculosis are solved using the computer software SIMULINK. The results are first employed to examine the intrinsic transmission dynamics of the disease through two models developed by Blower et al. (1995). The "simple transmission model" was used primarily to give insight to the behavior of the susceptible, latent, and infectious groups of individuals. Then, we consider a more detailed transmission model which includes several additional factors. This model captures the dynamics of not only the susceptible, latent and infectious …

The Ethnomedical Context Of Tuberculosis In A Northern Ecuadorian Province, Yamira Alejandra Araujo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Background. Tuberculosis (TB) prevention and control remains a major global public health challenge. Ecuador has among the highest estimated population prevalence rates for TB, TB-mortality, and multidrug resistant TB in the Americas (WHO, 2007; PAHO, 2004). However, with the exception of one prior study of a high-risk group of suspected cases and household contacts referred for TB testing (Armijos et al., 2008), very little is known about the disease and treatment knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and practices of Ecuadorian groups and the various socio-cultural and other factors (e.g., rurality, education, gender, disease experience) that shape these. The improved understanding of …

Evidence Of Pulmonary Disease In The Poole-Rose Ossuary Population: An Analysis Of The Ribs, Lisa Elaine Baumer

LSU Master's Theses

This study reports on the demographics and evidence of pulmonary disease in the Poole-Rose Ossuary which was excavated in 1990 under the direction of Heather McKillop. The bones are being studied at the request of the Alderville First Nation. Radiocarbon dated to A.D. 1550 ± 50 years, the skeletal material is a co-mingled collection that is consistent with a mass secondary burial event known as the Feast of the Dead often associated with the Huron. The ribs were used in this study. The condition of the ribs was highly fragmented. The minimum number of individuals for this study was 49 …

Spectrum Of Clinical Infectious Diseases In Hospitalized Elderly Patients In The Southeast Of Iran, Batool Sharifi-Mood, Maliheh Metanat

Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences

Aim: The elderly have defective host defenses that compromise their ability to ward off infectious agents; factors influencing immunocompetence include impaired host defenses such as diminished cell-mediated immunity, changes in chronic diseases, medications, malnutrition and functional impairments. This study was conducted in order to determine the pattern of clinical infectious diseases in a series of hospitalized elderly patients. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all elderly patients who were admitted to our hospital in Zahedan (Southeast Iran) between 2001 and 2006 were evaluated. We retrospectively reviewed the 1278 patients for diagnostic studies, risk factors, treatment options and morbidity and …

Through The Quarantine Looking Glass: Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis And Public Health Governance, Law, And Ethics, David P. Fidler, Lawrence O. Gostin, Howard Markel

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: An Isolation Order, Public Health Powers, And A Global Crisis, David P. Fidler, Howard Markel, Lawrence O. Gostin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Xdr Tuberculosis, The New International Health Regulations, And Human Rights, David P. Fidler, Philippe Calain

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Enhanced Surveillance To Understand Access To Care And Identify Missed Opportunities For Prevention Of Tuberculosis In The Foreign-Born Residing In Connecticut, David Banach

UCHC Graduate School Masters Theses 2003 - 2010

No abstract provided.

Knowledge, Attitude And Misconceptions Regarding Tuberculosis In Pakistani Patients, Javaid Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Amna Zaki, Madiha Beg, Syed Fayyaz Hussain, Nadeem Rizvi

Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care

Objective:

To assess knowledge of patients with tuberculosis; about their disease and misconceptions regarding TB.

Methods:

A cross sectional study was conducted at Out-patient clinics of two teaching hospitals (private and public) in Karachi, Pakistan. A questionnaire was filled for the purpose.

Results:

A total of 170 patients were interviewed, 112 from private and 58 from a public sector hospital. Cough, fever, bloody sputum and chest pain were recognized as the common symptoms of TB. Eleven (7%) patients thought TB was not an infectious disease and 18 (10.6%) did not consider it a preventable disease. Contaminated food was considered the …