(Category 3) Once the diagnosis of TSC is established and initial

(Category 3) Once the diagnosis of TSC is established and initial

diagnostic PLX3397 manufacturer evaluations completed, continued surveillance is necessary to monitor progression of known problems or lesions and emergence of new ones (Table 3).20 Some manifestations begin in childhood and are less likely to be present or cause new problems in adulthood, such as cardiac rhabdomyomas or subependymal giant cell astrocytomas. In contrast, problems with LAM are typically limited to adults, and renal manifestations require significantly more monitoring and intervention in adulthood compared with childhood because of the cumulative nature of angiomyolipomata and other renal lesions. Finally, other aspects of TSC may be present throughout the entire lifespan of the individual, such as epilepsy and TAND, but specific manifestations RG7204 nmr and impact on overall health and quality of life can vary. Thus, ongoing periodic surveillance is needed after initial diagnosis for optimal care and prevention of secondary complications associated with TSC.

Management of specific complications of TSC will often require input from a multidisciplinary team. Genetic testing and counseling should be offered to individuals with TSC when they reach reproductive age, and first-degree relatives of affected individuals should be offered clinical assessment and, where a mutation has been identified in the index case, genetic

testing. (Category 1) Symptomatic SEGA or SEGA Farnesyltransferase associated with increasing ventricular enlargement, or with unexplained changes in neurological status or TAND symptoms, require intervention or more frequent clinical monitoring and reimaging. For acutely symptomatic individuals, surgical resection is the recommended intervention, and cerebrospinal fluid diversion may also be necessary. For growing but otherwise asymptomatic SEGA, either surgical resection or medical therapy with mTOR inhibitors can be effective.31 and 32 Shared decision-making with the patients or their parents in selecting the best treatment option should take the following considerations into account: risk of complications or adverse effects, cost of treatment, expected length of treatment, and potential impact on TSC comorbidities. Patients with unilateral, single, gross total resectable SEGA without individual risk factors or other comorbidities preferentially may benefit from surgery, whereas patients with multisystem disease or multiple or infiltrating SEGA lesions that are not amenable to gross total resection may favor mTOR inhibitor treatment.

The latter could occur if the intranasal (i n ) route were used

The latter could occur if the intranasal (i.n.) route were used. Human beings are not expected to be contaminated www.selleckchem.com/products/apo866-fk866.html by the intratracheal route; and, (3) It was not possible to calculate the mass balance of cylindrospermopsin in the tissues, and thus we cannot warrant that the

detected values represent the total concentrations of the toxin in the tissues, i.e., maybe ELISA could not detect cylindrospermopsin attached to other cellular organelles, such as ribosomes and/or other translational components (Froscio et al., 2008). We conclude that the aggression of sub-lethal concentration of cylindrospermopsin to otherwise healthy mice impaired lung mechanics, which was preceded by lung parenchyma inflammation and oxidative stress. The authors are grateful to João Luiz Coelho Rosas Alves and Antonio Carlos Quaresma for their skillful technical assistance. This study was supported by: The Centers of Excellence Program (PRONEX-MCT/FAPERJ), The Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), The Carlos Chagas Filho Rio de Janeiro State Research Supporting Foundation (FAPERJ). “
“The bushmaster is the largest venomous snake in the Americas and the second largest in the world, reaching check details 3.40 m.

Individuals exceeding 2.80 m in length are rare in Brazil (Souza et al., 2007). The Lachesis accidents statistic misleads without a context: the 1.6–2.4% of total snakebites at the national level become 17% in the Amazon (Ramza, 1994) or more than that in highly fragmented and anthropized areas, such as the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia

(Souza et al., 2007). Much is said about Carteolol HCl the great capacity of adult inoculation of the Lachesis, but the severity of the accident is independent of the size of the animal ( França and Cardoso, 1989), since, unlike what can be seen in Bothrops, where the size of the animal is the main prognostic factor of evolution accidents ( França and Cardoso, 1989), even in surface scratches, inoculation with a single prey and accidents with young animals, characterized by low volume of the Lachesis venom inoculated, can still cause early serious and systemic effect ( Souza et al., 2007). This is probably due to the cascade of effects triggered by the self pharmacological post inoculation, as well as the synergy between the various actions of the poison, namely: intense local pain, swelling, profuse bleeding at the site of the bite, diarrhea and abdominal pain, vomiting, bradycardia, hypotension/profuse sweating, inability to swallow or painful attempt to do so, dysphagia and shock ( Souza et al., 2007).

The aims of our work were therefore to obtain monoclonal antibodi

The aims of our work were therefore to obtain monoclonal antibodies directed to biologically significant toxin epitopes expressed on B. atrox lethal toxins. The corresponding hybridomas will be used to develop humanized or antibody fragments as nonimmunogenic in vivo biopharmaceutical endowed with superior biodistribution and blood clearance properties. This work was supported by FAPERJ, CNPq. WDS is supported by grants from the following agencies: CNPq, Bolsa de Produtividade, Nível A, Proc. No: 301836/2005 – 1; FAPERJ “Programa – Cientistas de Nosso Estado”, Proc. No: E – 26/100.628/200; FAPESP, Proc. No: 09/52804 – 0 and INCTTOX program of the CNPq and FAPESP.

The authors

are grateful to Instituto http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Vincristine-Sulfate.html Butantan for providing B. atrox venom and horse F(ab′)2 anti-bothropic antivenom. This manuscript JNK inhibitor was reviewed by a professional science editor and by a native English-speaking copy editor to improve readability. “
“Ureases (urea amidohydrolase; EC 3.5.1.5) are nickel-dependent enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide (Dixon et al., 1975). Ureases have been isolated from a wide variety of organisms including plants, fungi and bacteria. In plants, ureases are homotrimers or homohexamers of a ∼90 kDa subunit and supposedly participate in the use of urea as nitrogen source (Carlini and Polacco, 2008). Evidences pointing to a possible involvement of ureases in the plant defense against MRIP some insect pests and phytopathogens have been documented (Carlini and Grossi-de-Sa, 2002; Carlini and Polacco, 2008; Staniscuaski and Carlini, 2012). Thus, newly described

properties of plant and microbial ureases, such as entomotoxic and fungitoxic activities, have widened the proposed physiological roles of ureases (Real-Guerra et al., 2013). In Canavalia ensiformis (Leguminosae) three urease isoforms were identified: Jackbean urease (JBU), Jackbean urease II (JBUre-II) and canatoxin (CNTX). These proteins were shown to present several biological effects, including toxicity to insects and fungi ( Becker-Ritt et al., 2007; Follmer et al., 2004; Mulinari et al., 2011; Postal et al., 2012; Staniscuaski et al., 2005, 2009, 2010). These biological activities are completely independent from the ureolytic activity ( Follmer et al., 2004; Mulinari et al., 2011; Postal et al., 2012). Elucidation of which domain is related to each biological activity could lead to the development of several urease-based biotechnological tools. One of the biologically active domains of Jackbean ureases, the one responsible for its insecticidal activity, has been identified. It is a ∼10 kDa fragment released by cleavage promoted by insect digestive enzymes ( Carlini et al., 1997; Ferreira-DaSilva et al., 2000).

Der Prozess wird durch die Aktivität von Reduktasen (Steap2 und D

Der Prozess wird durch die Aktivität von Reduktasen (Steap2 und Dyctb [33], [34] and [35]) in der apikalen Membran vermittelt, die das Cu2+ aus der Nahrung Epacadostat concentration zu Cu1+ reduzieren, der Oxidationsstufe, in der hCTR1 Kupfer transportiert. Bis vor wenigen Jahren galt hCTR1 noch als das einzige für den Kupfer-Uptake verantwortliche Protein. Aktuelle Daten zeigen jedoch, dass der divalente Metallionentransporter 1 (DMT1), ein in der apikalen Membran der Enterozyten lokalisiertes Eisentransportprotein, ebenfalls Cu1+ transportieren könnte [36] and [37]. Sobald sich das Kupfer im Zytoplasma

befindet, wird es entweder durch Metallothionein (MT) chelatiert oder an ein Kupfer-Chaperon gebunden. So transferiert Atox1 beispielsweise Kupfer zum alpha-Polypeptid der Kupfer-transportierenden ATPase vom P-Typ (ATP7A), das den basolateralen Efflux vermittelt [38]. Dies unterstreicht die wichtige Rolle der Enterozyten beim Uptake und möglicherweise auch bei der kurzfristigen Speicherung von Kupfer im Körper (Abb. 1A) Nach der Resorption im Darm wird Kupfer in den Pfortaderkreislauf sezerniert. Hierbei ist es als Cu2+ an Albumin, Transcuprein, niedermolekulare Kupfer-Histidin-Komplexe oder eine learn more Kombination daraus gebunden [39], [40] and [41]. Hat das Kupfer die Leber erreicht, wird es über hCTR1 rasch von

den Hepatozyten aufgenommen (Abb. 1B), wobei auch an diesem Schritt Reduktasen beteiligt sind. Befindet sich das Kupfer im Zytoplasma, wird es wahrscheinlich an reduziertes Glutathion (GSH) und MT gebunden, die als intrazelluläre Kupferspeicher dienen. Von einem Molekül MT können bis zu 12 Kupferatome in einem stabilen Komplex gebunden werden, der sich offenbar mit dem an GSH gebundenen Kupfer im Austausch befindet [42]. Da an GSH gebundenes Kupfer einem rascheren Turnover unterliegt als das an MT gebundene, wird Kupfer auf diese Weise für andere Zwecke verfügbar

und kann von Chaperonen übernommen werden. Das Kupfer-Chaperon für die Cu/Zn-Superoxiddismutase (CCS1) transferiert www.selleck.co.jp/products/Gemcitabine(Gemzar).html das Kupfer zur Superoxiddismutase (SOD) [43] and [44], die an der Abwehr von oxidativem Stress im Zytoplasma beteiligt ist. Cox17 ist ein weiteres Kupfer-Chaperon. Es transferiert Kupfer zur Cytochrom-c-Oxidase in der inneren Mitochondrienmembran, die eine wichtige Rolle beim Elektronentransport innerhalb der zellulären Atmungskette spielt [45] and [46]. Atox1 transferiert das Kupfer zum Transmembranprotein ATP7B im Trans-Golgi-Netzwerk, wo Kupfer in Ceruloplasmin eingebaut wird, woraufhin seine Sezernierung ins Blut oder in die Galle erfolgt [2] and [47]. Kupfer wird, entweder über die Galle oder als nicht resorbiertes Kupfer, in den Gastrointestinaltrakt exkretiert [48]. Andere Wege des Kupferverlusts, z. B. über den Schweiß, Urin oder bei der Menstruation, machen im Allgemeinen weniger als 1 μg/kg Körpergewicht pro Tag aus. Die Exkretion über die Galle stellt den Hauptweg der endogenen Kupferelimination dar [48].

Clonality of P falciparum infection was assessed as described pr

Clonality of P. falciparum infection was assessed as described previously. 32 Bacteraemia with metabolically active

Streptococcus pneumoniae and non-Typhoid Salmonella (NTS) was determined using quantitative PCR on cDNA. 33 Statistical analyses were performed using PASW statistics 18 (SPSS Inc.), GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software Inc.) and the R-statistical software (R Foundation). Data was log10 transformed for parametric analyses SB203580 research buy to achieve normality, except sequestered biomass (comprising positive and negative values) which was analyzed with non-parametric methods. Unpaired t-tests and likelihood-ratio tests were used to compare means and medians, respectively, of groups. Confounding by age, prior

antimalarial treatment and clonality of infection was assessed by quantile regression (“quantreg” package, R-statistical software): a model including only intercept was compared by means of likelihood-ratio tests to models with any combination of the above covariates or interaction terms. Correlation was assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. selleck chemicals llc To allow for the multiplicity of tests resulting from multiple responses and multiple comparisons within a response, a false discovery rate (FDR) of 5% was assumed, using the Benjamini and Hochberg approach. 34 Power of likelihood-ratio tests for detecting an X-fold difference in medians was determined by bootstrapping (10,000 replicates):

re-sampled data from the distribution of sequestered-parasite Idoxuridine biomass estimates was compared with a similar sample to which (X − 1) times the median sequestered biomass was added. Sensitivity analyses assessed the range within which each model parameter could be varied without rejection of the null hypothesis of equal median sequestered biomass among groups. In addition, the effect of joint variation in the parameters was assessed by sampling 10,000 candidate values from uniform distributions within the limits defined for each individual parameter, determining the frequency with which the likelihood-ratio test did not reject the null hypothesis. The effect of parameter variation on the Spearman’s rank correlation between lactate and sequestered biomass was assessed identically. Complete clinical and laboratory data (Fig. 1) were available from 296 children (Tables 1 and 2), 127 (42.9%) with SM, of whom 5 died (Fig. 2). Children with SM were younger, more anaemic and thrombocytopaenic, and had higher blood lactate, parasitaemia, parasite density, plasma PfHRP2 concentrations, circulating parasite biomass, and total parasite biomass (calculated from PfHRP2 concentration) than children with UM (Table 2 and Fig. 3A).

Similarly, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is fast becoming

Similarly, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is fast becoming a growing part of the investment market place, accounting for about

12.1% of the total financial investments in the United States (about $3.07 trillion) [21]. While it is still unclear whether SRI funds always outperform their non-SRI counterparts, it is important to note that these funds perform as well as their non-SRI counterparts when compared to other market benchmark funds [22]. The FIRME provides an approach that could derive momentum from a growing consensus on solutions for our oceans e.g., [23] and the need for political commitments on the ‘green economy’ theme (e.g., United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development UNCSD/Rio +20). In 2010 at Nagoya, the Conference of the Parties (COP10) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) identified the selleck inhibitor HCS assay need for innovative financing to underpin sustainability investments in nature. Meeting that challenge with conservation financing schemes, such as the FIRME, would be an explicit validation

that society is aiming to properly value and secure the natural capital base upon which we all depend. The authors acknowledge the contributions of many individuals who helped shape our ideas during numerous consultations hosted by WWF. In addition, we are greatly indebted to staff at the Prince’s Charities’ International Sustainability

Unit (Charlotte Cawthorne, Jack Gibbs, John Goodlad) and to the participants of ISU hosted workshops. Thanks also to: Tim Bostock (The World Bank); Ian Glew (Memorial University of Newfoundland); Jeffrey Hutchings (Dalhousie University); Astrid Scholz (Ecotrust); Rashid Sumaila (University of British Columbia). And to our many WWF colleagues, most notably: Daniela Diz, Mark Eckstein, Michael Harte, Vivian Okonkwo, David Schorr, Alfred Schumm, and Jessie Sitnick. “
“How to link fisheries science with competent and fair governance processes? In EU fisheries management, ADAMTS5 mathematical and statistical modelling has long been the central analytical method used for producing scientific advice informing the European decision makers. Strong tensions have grown in some fisheries between scientists and industry, in particular around questions of credibility and legitimacy of scientific advice based on the use of such models [1] and [2]. This credibility crisis has been identified as an important issue hampering the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to provide biological and economic sustainability (e.g., [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10] and [11]. Uncertainties challenge the ‘good’ governance in fisheries. Adequate handling and communication of uncertainty in fisheries science is still poorly addressed.

37 For each liquid, both the left and right sides of two drops (o

37 For each liquid, both the left and right sides of two drops (on different locations) were obtained for all specimens, and the average was calculated.

The specimens were packed in sealed sterile plastic bags with sterile distilled water and ultrasonicated for 20 min. Then all specimen surfaces were exposed to ultraviolet light in a laminar flow chamber for 20 min for sterilization.38 C. albicans adhesion was evaluated for all specimens, both saliva conditioned and unconditioned. For the preparation Metabolism inhibitor of the inoculum, the yeast C. albicans ATCC 90028 was seeded in an agar YEPD culture medium (1% yeast extract, 2% peptone, 2% dextrose, 2% agar) and incubated for 48 h at 37 °C. After this period, two loops of the cultivated yeast were transferred to 20 mL of the YNB (yeast nitrogen base) medium (Difco, Detroit, MI, USA) with 50 mM glucose. After incubation for 21 h at 37 °C, the cells were washed twice with sterile phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) (pH http://www.selleckchem.com/products/Trichostatin-A.html 7.2) by agitation and centrifugation at 5000 × g for 5 min. After washing, the cells were re-suspended in 20 mL of YNB broth with 100 mM sterile glucose. C. albicans suspensions were standardized to a concentration of 1 × 107 cell/mL, spectrophotometrically. An aliquot of 3 mL of the standardized C. albicans suspension was added to each well of a 12-well microplate containing

the specimens and maintained for 90 min at 37 °C in the adhesion phase. 39 Thereafter, the specimens were carefully washed twice with 3 mL of PBS to remove the non-adhered cells. Negative from controls were sterile specimens immersed in YNB broth supplemented

with glucose at 100 mM. All experiments were performed in triplicate on three different occasions. The viability of the C. albicans cells adhering to acrylic specimen surfaces was evaluated by XTT (2,3-bis(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfo-phenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide)-reduction assay, which measures the cell metabolic activity. Although XTT is a semi-quantitative colorimetric assay, 40 it correlates well with other quantitative techniques such as ATP and CFU assays 40 and 41 and, thus, it has been widely used to evaluate fungal adhesion and biofilm formation. 33 and 40 The XTT solution (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) was prepared using ultra pure water at a concentration of 1 mg/mL, sterilized by filtration and maintained at −70 °C. The menadione solution (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) was prepared in 0.4 mM acetone immediately before each experiment. After washing, the specimens were transferred to 12-well microplates containing, in each well, 2370 μL of PBS supplemented with 200 mM glucose, 600 μL of XTT and 30 μL of menadione. The plates were incubated in the dark for 3 h at 37 °C. The entire contents of each well were transferred to individual tubes and centrifuged at 5000 × g for 2 min.

At 100 °C, only 10 min were required to get the highest absorbanc

At 100 °C, only 10 min were required to get the highest absorbance (3.2) indicating the highest productivity of GNPs, this result was in agreement with previous studies [13]. The radiation-induced synthesis is one of the most promising strategies because it is

simple, clean and has harmless feature [58]. During radiation, when aqueous solution is exposed to gamma radiation, it creates solvated electrons which are able to reduce metal ions forming nano metals. Exposure of the extract see more to different doses of radiation was performed after addition of HAuCl4, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band was noted for all doses, maximum absorbance (4) was found at a dose of 5 kGy, after which further increase in radiation dose resulted in decrease in absorbance at 550 nm, while no peak was recorded in blank sample (radiation before mixing with HAuCl4). The formation of GNPs can be attributed to the radiolytic reduction which generally involves

Ganetespib radiolysis of aqueous solutions that provides an efficient method to reduce metal ions. In the radiolytic method, when aqueous solutions are exposed to gamma rays, they create solvated electrons, which reduce the metal ions and the metal atoms eventually coalesce to form aggregates [59]. Exposure of water or aqueous solutions to ionizing radiation leads to formation of primary species H3O+, H , OH , H2O2. These free radicals have major importance in radiolytic chemical reactions. The combined effect of both radiolytic reduction and presence of peptide resulted in formation of GNPs by radiolytic reactions and stabilization by prevention of aggregates formation by “capping”. The higher concentration of GNPs indicated by in absorbance value of 4 with radiation compared to a value 4��8C of 3.2 with temperature, gave an obvious advantage for radiation over temperature in the production of GNPs. The volume of HAuCl4 added strongly affects the reaction. Absorbance increased with increase in volume HAuCl4, the best volume of HAuCl4 was 0.3 ml (10 mg/ml), which indicates increased rate of reaction by increasing the volume of HAuCl4 used, and further increase as reported causes decrease

in formation of GNPs used due to aggregation as reported previously [60]. From the above mentioned results we can conclude that laccase production by Pleurotus ostreatus has been shown to depend markedly on the composition of the culture medium, carbon, nitrogen content and inducer compounds. We were able to reach the conditions that helped in multiplying the enzyme concentration to almost 10 folds (compared to fermentation of wheat bran alone) indicating that factorial design can be a practical useful tool for optimizing the reaction parameters for enhancing the activity of laccase. Using the partially purified enzyme in the decolorization of five different reactive azo dyes, we were able to get relatively high percentage of decolorization, which underscores the importance of dye decolorization using fungal enzymes.

Alternatively, a large number of biochemical compounds (i e , cat

Alternatively, a large number of biochemical compounds (i.e., catecholamines, neuropeptides, amino acids, enzymes, IgGs, oxidative stress proteins) including PD-related proteins (i.e., α-SYN, DJ-1) were typically measured in CSF, blood or urine [160] and [161] (Table 3). As a major component of LB, α-SYN was one of the most attractive molecules to investigate.

In plasma, levels of oligomeric [162] and phosphorylated [163] α-SYN were found increased in PD patients versus controls whereas in CSF, total α-SYN levels [164] and [165] were found repeatedly decreased, although the increased oligomers/total-α-SYN ratio found in PD might be more valuable [166]. However, conflicting results, significant overlap of values between groups, insufficient Epigenetics Compound Library screening sensitivity and specificity preclude the use of α-SYN as a valid marker at the moment [167]. Several studies demonstrated inconsistent results regarding DJ-1 levels in the CSF, whose combination with other molecule measurements might be more helpful for PD diagnosis [168]. Recently, a quantitative Luminex assay demonstrated that the combination of α-SYN and DJ-1 measurements with five other molecules (total tau, phospho-tau, amyloid β1–42, Flt3 ligand and fractalkine) in the CSF could not only help in PD diagnosis and differential

diagnosis but was also correlated with disease progression

and severity [169]. Given the obvious role Venetoclax of oxidative stress in PD pathogenesis, oxidative markers were investigated. For instance, urinary levels of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine were shown to be more elevated in PD versus controls and able to evaluate disease progression [170]. Reduced levels of urate, a strong antioxidant, were found in serum, CSF and in the SN of PD patients, which correlate with DA neurodegeneration, advanced PD symptoms and higher risk for developing PD [171], [172] and [173]. While promising for some of them, none of the above biomarkers – taken individually or in combination – has reached a sufficient level of accuracy and reliability allowing their clinical use [174]. The recent emergence of new “candidate-free” Ponatinib manufacturer unbiased disciplines such as proteomics but also genomics and GWAS, transcriptomics, or metabolomics has boost the exploration of new avenues to decipher molecular pathways at the basis of PD pathogenesis and biomarkers for PD diagnosis. Proteomics is a particularly prominent “omic” discipline which systematically studies the protein complement of cells or tissue at a given time [186]. Around 20,000 human genes produce about 150,000 transcripts and more than 1,000,000 proteins as a results of alternative splice variants, RNA editing or PTMs.

T b rhodesiense causes acute infection in eastern Africa and is

T. b. rhodesiense causes acute infection in eastern Africa and is responsible for less than 10% of reported cases [3] and [11]. The two forms of parasite are geographically separated by a line across Uganda [12]. Historically, disease prevalence followed in waves of epidemics mainly linked

to the socio-political instability of the affected countries. The resolutions adopted by the WHO and NGOs during the 1990s led to a consistent reduction in the number of reported cases, quantified by decreases of 69% for the gambiense form and 21% for the rhodesiense form, during the period 1997–2006 [3]. Currently, disease transmission is considered to be under control, with 19 of the 36 endemic countries registering no new cases in 2009 [11]. Sleeping sickness progresses through two stages. The Obeticholic Acid ic50 first stage (stage 1, S1), or haemolymphatic stage, occurs after an incubation period that can vary from 1 to 3 weeks after the bite of the tsetse fly. This stage is characterized by the proliferation of parasites in the bloodstream and the lymphatic system. If S1 patients are not properly treated, the disease progresses find more to the second stage (stage 2, S2) or meningo-encephalitic

stage, when parasites invade the CNS [13]. The disease is considered to be fatal if untreated [14]. The speed of progression from S1 to S2 varies according to the infecting parasite: for T. b. gambiense, S1 can last for months or years before evolving into S2, while the evolution of T. b. rhodesiense HAT from S1 to S2 occurs within a few weeks of infection [14]. In both forms of HAT, early stage patients present unspecific clinical symptoms and signs [15]. Stage 1 disease can often mimic other illnesses endemic in the same regions, such as malaria and HIV, which can even coexist in patients affected by sleeping sickness [16]. As the disease evolves into S2, the clinical symptoms and signs become more specific,

with the appearance of neurological disorders of different types as a consequence of meningo-encephalitis, including impaired Oxalosuccinic acid motor functions, tremors, psychiatric changes and coma [14]. The clinical manifestations of the two forms of HAT are different and, generally, T. b. gambiense patients present more evident neurological disorders [15]. A characteristic neurological complication of sleeping sickness, which gives the disease its name, is a dysfunction of the sleep-wake cycle, with daytime sleepiness and alterations of the normal sleep patterns with the appearance of sleep onset REM periods (SOREMPs) [17]. The diagnostic workflow for HAT patients consists of three phases. The first phase, the serological screening, consists in mass population examination using the Card Agglutination Test for Trypanosomiasis (CATT) to identify patients potentially affected by T. b. gambiense.