Eukaryotic cells express several classes of small RNAs that regulate gene expression and ensure genome maintenance. Endogenous siRNAs (endo-siRNAs) and Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) mainly control gene and transposon expression in the germline, while microRNAs (miRNAs) generally function in post-transcriptional gene silencing in both somatic and germline cells. To provide an evolutionary and d...

BACKGROUND Helminth infestations are associated with T-helper cell type 2 (Th2) immune responses, leading to suppression of Th1 responses required to control Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. We hypothesized that deworming after documented M. tuberculosis exposure might improve Th1 immune responses. METHODS This was a randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of early versus delaye...

BACKGROUND The relationship between helminthiases and allergy is a matter of considerable interest and research. In the tropics, house dust mite exposure, a known risk factor for asthma, is frequently concurrent with helminth infections. It remains to be defined whether infection with the common roundworm Ascaris or its bystander immunological effects influence the prevalence and pathogenesis o...

The migration of larvae of Ascaris lumbricoides from the intestine through the lungs and bronchial tree into the oesophagus and back into the intestine is a well-known feature of the life cycle of this nematode. The passage through the lungs remains often symptomless, but, in an investigation on experimental infection in man, Takata (1951) found cough in 71-4% of those infected with human ascar...

the effect of phenylen di-isothiocyanate (jonit) in the mass treatment of various intestinal helminthiases was evaluated among the inhabitants of a village in dezful, southwest iran. stool samples collected and examined from 17 persons showed infection rates of 80% for ancylostoma duodenale, 57.3% for ascaris, 46.7% for trichostronylus spp. and 22.8% for h. nana.seventy- one persons (41 childre...

To clarify the existence of reinfection in children bearing an established Ascaris lumbricoides infection, the authors evaluated the weight and the length of worms collected from ten cases of ascaridiasis. The worm burden was greater than 27 worms in nine cases. In seven cases the weight and the length of worms showed little variation, with unimodal distribution of values, suggesting that all t...

Although it is the most prevalent helminth worldwide, Ascaris lumbricoides rarely invades the stomach. Ascaris infestation may produce gastrointestinal or biliary obstruction, liver abscess, pancreatitis, volvulus, intussusception, acute appendicitis, occult gastrointestinal bleeding, and anemia. We report here on a case of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient with gastric ascaria...

The only animal of which the complete neural circuitry is known at the submicroscopical level is the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This anatomical knowledge is complemented by functional insight from electrophysiological experiments in the related nematode Ascaris lumbricoides, which show that Ascaris motor neurons transmit signals electrotonically and not with unattenuated spikes. We develo...

This review highlights advances made since 2004 in understanding the epidemiology of infection and the interactions between Ascaris lumbricoides and other concurrent infections. As water scarcity increases, untreated wastewater is increasingly used to irrigate crops, thus increasing the risk of transmission. New methods to detect and inactivate Ascaris eggs in water, soil and food are described...

BACKGROUND Conventional diagnostic methods for human ascariasis are based on the detection of Ascaris lumbricoides eggs in stool samples. However, studies of ascariasis in pigs have shown that the prevalence and the number of eggs detected in the stool do not correlate well with exposure of the herd to the parasite. On the other hand, an ELISA test measuring antibodies to Ascaris suum haemoglob...