Journal/Magazine Articles

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This collection contains original research articles, review articles and case reports published in local and international peer reviewed journals by the staff members of the Faculty of Medicine

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Prolonged clearence of microfilaraemia in patients with bancroftian filariasis after multiple high doses of ivermectin of diethylacarbamizine
    (Oxford University Press, 1996) Ismail, M.M.; Weil, G.J.; Jayasinghe, K.S.A.; Premaratne, U.N.; Abeyewickreme, W.; Rajaratnam, H.N.; Sheriff, M.M.R.; Perera, C.S.; Dissanaike, A.S.
    In a double-blind trial on 37 asymptomatic microfilaraemic subjects (minimum 400 microfilariae [mf] per mL) with Wuchereria bancrofti infection, the safety, tolerability and macrofilaricidal efficacy of 12 fortnightly doses of ivermectin, 400 microg/kg (ivermectin group), was compared with 12 fortnightly doses of diethylcarbamazine (DEC), 10 mg/kg (DEC group), over a period of 129 weeks after treatment. A control group (LDIC group) was treated with low dose ivermectin to clear microfilaraemia, for ethical reasons. Both ivermectin and DEC in high multiple doses were well tolerated and clinically safe. Macrofilaricidal efficacy was assessed by prolonged clearance of microfilaraemia, appearance of local lesions, and reduction of circulating W. bancrofti adult antigen detected by an antigen capture enzyme-linked immunoassay based on the monoclonal antibody AD12. Mf counts fell more rapidly after ivermectin than after DEC, but low residual mf levels were equivalent in these groups after week 4. Conversely, filarial antigen levels fell more rapidly after DEC than after ivermectin, but low residual antigen levels in these groups were statistically equivalent at all times beyond 12 weeks. Mild, self-limited systemic reactions to therapy were observed in all 3 treatment groups. Local reactions, such as development of scrotal nodules, were observed in several subjects in the DEC and ivermectin groups. These results suggested that high dose ivermectin and DEC both had significant macrofilaricidal activity against W. bancrofti, but neither of these intensive therapeutic regimens consistently produced complete cures. Thus, new drugs or dosing schedules are needed to achieve the goal of killing all filarial parasites in the majority of patients.
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    Cloning and characterization of a repetitive DNA sequence specific for Wuchereria bancrofti
    (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1994) Siridewa, K.; Karunanayake, E.H.; Chandrasekharan, N.V.; Abeyewickreme, W.; Franzen, L.; Aslund, L.; Pettersson, U.
    A genomic library constructed in a bacteriophage lambda replacement vector (EMBL3) with Wuchereria bancrofti DNA partially digested with Sau 3A I was screened with 32P-labeled W. bancrofti total DNA, and a strongly reactive recombinant, EMBL3Wb34, was isolated. This clone contained an approximately 16-kb insert that showed some cross-hybridization with Brugia malayi and B. pahangi DNA. However, a 969-bp subclone from EMBL3Wb34, designated pWb12, hybridized only with W. bancrofti DNA and was able to detect as little as 300 pg. Furthermore, pWb12 could detect DNA from a single infective larva or one microfilaria. It has a moderate copy number (450-700) and appears to be interspersed within the parasite genome. The nucleotide sequence contains 66% A+T and 34% G+C and shows no notable internal repeats.
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    Effect of ivermectin on the development of Wuchereria bancrofti in the vector
    (Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, 1992) Abeyewickreme, W.; Ismail, M.M.; Premaratne, U.N.; Dissanaike, A.S.
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    Treatment of bancroftian filariasis with ivermectin in Sri Lanka, evaluation of efficacy and adverse reaction
    (Malaysian Society of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, 1991) Ismail, M.M.; Premaratne, U.N.; Abeyewickreme, W.; Jayasinghe, K.S.A.; de Silva, W.A.S.; Atukorala, S.; de Abrew, K.; Dissanaike, A.S.
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    Anopheles (Cellia) jamesii: a potential natural vector of Bancroftian filariasis in Sri Lanka
    (Oxford University Press, 1991) Abeyewickreme, W.; Wanniarachchi, P.
    No Abstract Available