Background: Galantamine is a drug used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and some other cognitive disorders. It is an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase however, interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors has also been reported. Owing to the significant role of cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathways in neuro-immunomodulation, we decided to examine the effect of galantamine on tula...

The causative agent of tularemia, Francisella tularensis, is a formidable biologic agent that occurs naturally throughout North America. We examined genetic and spatial diversity patterns among 161 US F. tularensis isolates by using a 24-marker multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) system. MLVA identified 126 unique genotypes. Phylogenetic analyses showed patterns similar...

Introduction: Rodents are the primary source of several zoonotic infectious diseases. The upsurge of rodents’ population in Najaf Abad Village of Nishapur County, northeastern Iran in February 2014 raised the concerns about the outbreak of diseases such as plague and tularemia. This report discusses the lessons learned from the outburst of rodents’ population in that village and rep...

This thesis is about analyzing genetic differences among isolates of Francisella tularensis – the tularemia-causing bacterium. To elucidate how these bacterial isolates are related, and their geographical and genetic origins, I have developed typing assays for Francisella and used them to study the epidemiology of tularemia. Tularemia is an infectious disease of humans and other mammals found t...

In July 2007, a deer fly-associated outbreak of tularemia occurred in Utah. Human infections were caused by 2 clades (A1 and A2) of Francisella tularensis subsp. tularensis. Lagomorph carcasses from the area yielded evidence of infection with A1 and A2, as well as F. tularensis subsp. holarctica. These findings indicate that multiple subspecies and clades can cause disease in a localized outbre...