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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.
23 September 2016
Theresa May is being urged to give the go-ahead for flights to resume between the UK and Sharm el-Sheikh by the head of the cross-party parliamentary group on Egypt.
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22 September 2016
Budget airline Jet2.com is to open its first base in the south of England at Stansted.
21 September 2016
Smoking rates have dropped to the lowest level on record in England, new figures show, suggesting messages about the health effects of cigarettes are hitting home.
20 September 2016
Concerns have been raised over flight disruptions caused by heavy drinking among passengers.
17 September 2016
British Airways' decision to launch direct flights from London to Tehran earlier this month positions Iran as one of the hottest destinations to visit in 2017, according to experts.
16 September 2016
More than 100 flights have been cancelled as French air traffic controllers go on strike again.
15 September 2016
Two thirds of MPs would support an expansion at Heathrow.
14 September 2016
TripAdvisor is launching a new homepage, making the booking of holiday activities and tours even easier.
13 September 2016
Travellers are to be charged to use fast lanes to get through passport checks in an attempt to cut queues.
09 September 2016
People travelling to regions affected by the Zika virus outbreak should practise safe sex for at least half a year upon their return, health leaders say.
08 September 2016
British Airways is apologising to passengers for delays after an IT glitch hit check-in systems.
07 September 2016
Tiny particles that are breathed in and taken into the brain through air pollution could trigger Alzheimer's disease, research finds.