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13 September 2011 11:51
Experts have developed a safer therapy to treat sleeping sickness
Scottish experts have claimed a major breakthrough in the battle against sleeping sickness.
Scientists based at the University of Glasgow believe they have made a significant step forward in developing a safer cure for the condition, which is also known as Human African Trypanosomiasis.
The infection, transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly, affects thousands of people in African countries every year. It can be fatal if left untreated.
It is highly unsafe for global tourists to travel in the affected countries without a comprehensive medical travel insurance policy.
Doctors often prescribe an intravenous course of the arsenic-based drug melarsoprol if the disease crosses the blood-brain barrier and enters the central nervous system.
But the drug involved is highly toxic, which makes the therapy painful. It even kills 5% of patients receiving it and leaves many others permanently brain-damaged.
However, Glasgow scientists combined melarsoprol with another substance - cyclodextrins - which surrounds the drug allowing it to be administered orally. This means the melarsoprol is released in to the intestines where it can be dissolved and absorbed more slowly in the gut.
15 August 2018
A simple blood test could help GPs detect a rare form of bone marrow cancer much earlier, a new study suggests.
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14 August 2018
Passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport last month faced queues of over two and a half hours at passport control, new figures have revealed.
11 August 2018
Hundreds of Ryanair flights will not take off as planned on Friday due to pilot strikes in five countries.
10 August 2018
Fad diets that cut out carbs while increasing fat consumption could lead to an increased risk of diabetes, according to new research.
09 August 2018
HIV testing has become even more accessible after a self-testing kit was made available from a High Street retailer.
08 August 2018
Women patients are more likely to survive a heart attack if they are treated by a female doctor, a new US study has revealed.
07 August 2018
The head of British Airways has branded two-hour queues facing travellers at Heathrow's passport control as a "border farce."
04 August 2018
Simple factors such as gender and body mass can help doctors to personalise care for patients with type 2 diabetes and avoid harmful side effects, according to a study.
03 August 2018
Gatwick Express must no longer claim it runs "non-stop to Victoria station in half an hour" and "in just 30 minutes" unless it can achieve the time in most cases, a watchdog has ruled.
02 August 2018
A charity is calling for greater access to respite support after it emerged that 72% of Britain's 700,000 young carers feel lonely and isolated during the summer holidays.
01 August 2018
A plan to build new rail links with Heathrow Airport and connect Windsor's two train stations have been submitted to the Government.
31 July 2018
The head of International Airlines Group (IAG), the company that owns British Airways, is 'optimistic' about a legal challenge to end crippling strikes.