20402205 - MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY

The course is intended to provide students with learnig competences in the field of general and applied parasitology, including the main laboratory techniques necessary for the study and diagnosis of the parasitic diseases relevant to human health.
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Programme

Elements of parasite taxonomy. Symbiosis, commensalism and parasitism. Adaptations to parasitism. Parasite Ecology.
Zoonosis. Pathogenesis. The most important parasitic diseases. Epidemiology, prevention and treatment.
Flagellates of reticuloendothelial system. Leishmaniasis: Leishmania infantum and L. donovani. Trypanosomiasis: Trypanosoma cruzi (Chagas disease); Trypanosoma brucei (sleeping sickness).
Intestinal and urogenital flagellates (Giardia duodenalis, Trichomonas vaginalis).
Blastocystis hominis, Dientamoeba fragilis. Intestinal amoebae: Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar, Entamoeba coli. Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba castellanii.
Overwiev on Apicomplexa: cycles and cellular organelles. Cryptosporidium spp. Toxoplasma gondii.
Plasmodium and malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, Pl.vivax, Pl.ovale, Pl.malariae. Plasmodium knowlesi.
Trematodes: Fasciola epatica, Schistosoma spp.and schistosomiasis. Opistorchis felineus and Clonorchis sinensis.
Diphyllobothrium latum, Taenia solium and Taenia saginata. Echinococcosis: Echinococcus granulosus and E. multilocularis.
Geohelmints: Trichuris trichura, Asca-
ris lumbricoides, Ancylostoma duodenale. Pinworms. Anisakis spp.
Wuchereria bancrofti, Onchocerca Volvulus. Dracunculus medinensis. Trichinella spp.
Sandflies (Flebotumus) and Mosquitos (Anopheles, Aedes). Arachnida: Ticks: Ixodidae and Argasidae; Scabies mites (Sarcoptes scabiei). Insects: Anoplura (lices), Aphanittera (fleas).
Antiprotozoal drugs and antihelmintic drugs. Antimalarial drugs and drug-resistance phenomenon.
Conventional Diagnostics and Microscopy. Antigenic and serological tests. Molecular Diagnostics.
Tolerance and inflammation. Immunological escape mechanisms.
Databases and applications for studying the parasites: VEuPathDB and WormBase.


Core Documentation

Medical Parasitology: A Self-Instructional Text. Ruth Leventhal (2012).