This Week in Parasitism

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TWiP 188: Terrible tropisms Sep 26, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Baby with Hydrocephalus, and present a new clinical case for listeners to solve.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Case Study for TWiP 188

Man in 90s, suffering for months, healthy, hypertension, diabetes, large man, over 6 ft, 200 lb, rash. Full body rash for months. Gone through allergy med, cream, prednisone, some helped but regressed. Tried ivermectin 3 pills, got better for a few weeks, then rash worsened. Primary care doc did thorough exam, found abnormal area between toes, did scraping, sent to lab. When came back, asked some questions. Wife is also suffering. Gave larger dose of ivermectin, repeated 2 weeks later, wife also treated, and then recover. Not COVID-19, no HIV-AIDS, no drinking or smoking. Started before COVID, first in wife. Had gone on trip, not far away, stayed in hotel. No pets.

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 187: Granny's granuloma Aug 29, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Middle Aged Woman with Loss of Vision in One Eye, and discuss the role of heme oxygenase in the various protozoan infections.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Heme oxygenase-1 in protozoan infections (PLoS Path)
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Case Study for TWiP 187

Pregnant newly married, living North Shore, first pregnancy. Affluent family, measured successful lawyer who cooks. Organic eating. Boy born at 9 mo, has midwife, has delivery at home. Baby has enlarged head. OB diagnosed with hydrocephalus. Mother healthy. No meds. Works in retail store, lives with husband, not working for second half of pregnancy. Drank alcohol rarely. No significant travel. Patient reports having no pets but her brother owns small farm, and husband likes serving rare meats, all kinds, which she has eaten since she married him. Will do ultrasound, CT, blood work.

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 186: Not rationing rationality Aug 01, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Elder Gardener Feeling Poorly, and discuss the three-dimensional ultrastructure of Plasmodium falciparum during cytokinesis.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Three-dimensional structure of malaria parasite (PLoS Path)
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Case Study for TWiP 186

Middle aged woman quite upset, referred to Daniel. Sheltering at home, one day looking at her children, noticed problem with vision. When covers right eye, notices area of loss of vision in left eye. No other associated symptoms. Admitted to hospital, blood tests, eye exam (lesion in back of eye had developed). Blood: WNV serology, another was done but he's not saying. Comes back positive. No cat or dog exposure. Healthy, no prior medical problems, no surgeries, no toxic habits, HIV unknown, married.

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 185: Latrinalia Jul 03, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Wife of a Guy with Cyclospora Diarrhea, and discuss the discovery of an intrinsic oscillator that drives the bloodstream stage cycle of the malaria parasite.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Intrinsic oscillator in malaria parasite (Science)
Malaria parasite has intrinsic clock (Science)
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Case Study for TWiP 185

Seeing this type of case 1/week for last several weeks. 75 yo female, admitted with fever, body aches, cough, loose stool for 2 week, sodium 118. Sheltering in place in Long Island, some gardening, no travel. Blood testing detected low sodium. COVID-19 negative, no other symptoms. Blood work: wbc 2000; hematocrit 24; platelets 40; sodium 120s. Unremarkable physical exam. Lyme test negative; other tick borne diseases negative.

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 184: The hunter gets captured by the game Jun 06, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Safari Goer With Watery Diarrhea, and explain how a microsporidian endosymbiont of Anopheles mosquitoes might impair the transmission of malaria.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Microsporidian impairs Plasmodium transmission (Nat Comm)
Hero: Eugene T. Lyons (obituary)
Image credit: Josh
Letters read on TWiP 184

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Case Study for TWiP 184

69 yo female with several months of abdominal symptoms started in S. Africa, water shortage as described for her husband in the previous TWiP. Husband had C. cayetanensis. Her symptoms improved; her stool was positive for B. hominis and E. nana. Given many different treatments. Then comes to see Daniel. Some abdominal discomfort, mucosy stools. All past med/surg unremarkable, nothing in family, sent for repeat labs, stool O&P all normal including GI PCR

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 183: When they dry they die May 08, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Female with Itchy Anus, and reveal the structure of a roundworm membrane protein involved in digestion of nutrients.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Structure of roundworm digestive complex (PLoS Path)
Hero: Dr. Anthony Fauci
Fauci Pharmacy (TWiV 219)
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Case Study for TWiP 183

70 yo male. Returns with wife from safari in S. Africa. Reports suffering from 2 weeks watery diarrhea. Severe water shortage in S. Africa, limited washing water, hand sanitizers to clean hands so problem with hand hygiene. 5 days after arrival he and wife have water diarrhea, 12 per day, nauseated, abdominal cramping. Ab no effect. Stool culture, ONP, negative. Healthy, no past med/surg, no allergies, nothing runs in family. Stool sent off for ONP acid fast stain, also GI PCR panel. Prompts treatment for 7 days trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, resolves.

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 182: Super spreaders of science Apr 11, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Ugandan Volunteer With Morning Bites and discuss integration of HIV-1 into the Schistosome genome, with a sprinkling of COVID-19 throughout.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Daniel on TWiV
HIV-1 integration into Schistosome genome (PLoS Path)
Image from John Southall's Treatise of Buggs, 1730.
Letters read on TWiP 182

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Case Study for TWiP 182

60 yo female comes in with husband, grew up in Lima Peru. Having issue had when child, would get itchiness around anus, mother would have her eat pumpkin seeds. Every 2-3 weeks wakes up with severe itching. Put in q-tip and extracted something, has video of it. ONP stool cultures negative. Referred to Daniel. Negative medical history, no allergies, no surgeries, no medications. Does travel, mainly to Uganda. HIV negative, no toxic habits. Husband reports no symptoms. Has children/grandchildren.

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 181: Daniel's drive-through Mar 14, 2020

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Dickson, Daniel and Vincent solve the case of the Two Volunteers With Watery Diarrhea, discuss diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in the New York area, and reveal an approach to preventing honeybee colony collapse by imbuing their gut bacteria with the ability to produce antiviral and antiparasite double-stranded RNAs.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Daniel on TWiV Special
Engineered symbionts limit honeybee pathogens (Science)
Letters read on TWiP 181

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Case Study for TWiP 181

Risks of being helpful. Volunteer from previous case. Diarrhea is gone, now has second issue. Since coming to Uganda noticing on waking in AM often has series of 1 cm red raised lesions in a line, 3-4, on torso. Swollen and itchy. New ones in the AM. Manager says welcome to Uganda. They move out of room, leave bedding behind. Lesions stop. What is going on and when can they move back into room?

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 180: A spleen palaver Feb 08, 2020

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The TWiP professors solve the case of the Ugandan Child with Splenomegaly, and reveal that mutations in the P. falciparum genome that confer artemisinin resistance interfere with endocytic uptake of hemoglobin.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Endocytosis pathway mediates artemisinin resistance in malaria parasites (Science)
Letters read on TWiP 180

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Case Study for TWiP 180

Uganda with a twist. Meets two people with watery diarrhea, 12 episodes/day, loss of appetite. No fever, no blood in stool. Living for months at staff guest house. One week prior to onset went on weekend trip to area with waterfalls. Were served outdoor meal: meat, salad, fruit. Recommends empiric treatment trimethoprim/sulfamethoxzole for 7 days. Prompt resolution of diarrhea. A few days later, upon drinking coffee with milk gets severe cramps. 20s, long term female volunteers.

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

TWiP 179: Verminous visitors Jan 11, 2020

Show notes

The TWiP DVD solve the case of the Child Who Passed Worms, and discuss a non-human primate model for severe malarial anemia.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Dickson Despommier, and Daniel Griffin

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Primate model of severe malarial anemia (Sci Rep)
Ascaris skirt (and more!)
Hero: Harold W. Brown
Letters read on TWiP 179

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Case Study for TWiP 179

From Uganda, eastern up in mountains, rainy season. 6 yo girl brought in by mother on Monday, reporting several days of feeling poorly, headache, fever, muscle aches. Negative malaria smear on Monday. Wednesday returns, feeling worse, fever higher, headache worse. Lungs clear, belly (pain on left side) has large spleen. Living in good conditions, well dressed, dirt floor house, concrete walls. Toilet is hole in back. Same dietary habits, high in carbs. No mosquito netting. Water from stream. No siblings. HIV negative.

Send your case diagnosis, questions and comments to twip@microbe.tv

Music by Ronald Jenkees

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