News
Clinical Trials to Assess Effectiveness of Treatment Guidelines for Lymphedema Induced by Lymphatic Filariasis
The LeDoxy trials have published their joint study on Lymphedema management using hygiene measures and doxycycline administration. The multi-centre, multi-country clinical trial, was conducted in 5 country, Ghana, Tanzania, Mali, Sri Lanka and India. The trials were a collaborative effort between COR-NTD (TaskForce for Global Health, Atlanta, USA) and IMMIP (Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, The German Center for Infection Research, Bonn-Cologne site, Germany). Trials in Ghana and Tanzania were funded by The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Neglected Tropical Diseases Program through their support of the Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD) grant (AID-OAA-G-14-00008), funded those conducted in Mali, Sri Lanka and India. IMMIP’s institute director Prof. Achim Hoerauf is the co-coordinator of the TAKeOFF consortium and Dr. Ute Klarmann-Schulz the Bonn PI. Continue reading
Photo: Dr. Christoph Hoffmann MdB, Deputy Chairman of the AWZ and Prof. Achim Hörauf
DNTDs in the German Parliament - Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development
Berlin, 06.11.2024 - The German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases (DNTDs) was invited to speak to the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development of the German Bundestag about strategies to combat neglected tropical diseases and their financing. Prof. Dr. Achim Hörauf, Director IMMIP, gave an outline of the status quo and presented recommendations for action as an expert and spokesperson for the DNTDs. In particular, he addressed the strengthening and further development of NTD programs, the integration of NTD programs into other sectors, the improvement of access to drugs, the continuation of the promotion of drug development against NTDs and the promotion of innovative financing approaches for incentive systems for drug development and marketing of NTD programs. Continue reading
Battling Neglected Tropical Diseases in Times of Climate Change
This year in October, (13th -15th Oct. 2024), Stakeholders from all sectors and regions united at the World Health Summit to discuss the most pressing global health topics in over 60 sessions. Experts from the field of Neglected Tropical Diseases gathered for a session, focusing on the intersection of climate change and the growing threat of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). This Hybrid session, hosted by the Association of Research-based Pharmaceutical Companies (vfa) and the German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases (DNTDs), shed light on how climate dynamics are reshaping the landscape of public health. Prof. Dr. Achim Hörauf, Director IMMIP and Speaker of the DNTDs cochaired the session with Dr. Carsten Köhler, University Hospital Tuebingen. The session, had speakers/ panelists from World Health Organization (WHO), Department for the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières (VSF), Bayer AG, Takeda Vaccines and University of Liverpool.Continue reading
Kumasi Ghana, 9th August 2024
KNUST Ghana and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn Sign a New Collaborations Agreement
A new Collaborations agreement was signed between the Kwame Nkruma University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn. The cooperation agreement, which was signed by Prof. Rita Dickson, the Vice Chancellor of KNUST, and the University of Bonn, Faculty of Medicine, will enable more research collaboration and a new students exchange program. It is forseen that within the exchange, program, 3 students from Ghana will come to Bonn and participate in the MSc Immunosciences, under the ImmunoSensation Excellence cluster. The signed agreement will make it possible for the units taken in Bonn to be recognize and credited to the students' degree programmes at KNUST.
Development of the antibiotic Corallopyronin A against filariasis
More than 72 million people in the tropics are infected with the nematodes Onchocerca volvulus, Wuchereria bancrofti and Brugia malayi. Infections with these worms can lead to severe dermatitis and blindness or elephantiasis - a disease in which the legs in particular become extremely enlarged. In dogs, a similar parasite can cause life-threatening canine heartworm disease. With the natural compound Corallopyronin A, Prof. Achim Hörauf and his team at the Institute for Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology (IMMIP) Continue reading...
Code for a Cure: Combating River Blindness with Data & AI
A team of experts at Capgemini, in collaboration with University Hospital Bonn and Amazon Web Services, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that will accelerate the speed of clinical trials aiming to establish new treatments for River Blindness, a neglected tropical disease which affects over 20 million people globally. Currently, the specialist work of clinical trials can only be carried out manually by a handful of global experts, so the winning model could save years of work and speed up the development of new treatments.Continue reading
Fight Against American Trypanosomiasis
Chagas disease is estimated by the WHO to affect about 6-7 million people. Prof. Achim Hoerauf the Speaker of the German Network for Neglected Tropical Disease and Director IMMIP, was in Machareti, Bolivia to discuss potential collaborations in the fight against American trypanosomiasis.
The Search for New Treatment for River Blindness
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.15 million people have lost their vision due to river blindness, while 220 million require preventive therapy against onchocerciasis. For over 25 years, the Institute of Medical Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology, at the University Hospital Bonn and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, in Kumasi Ghana have been conduction clinical trials in river blindness and lymphatic filariasis... Continue reading
