neglected diseases are also affecting us the Spanish ”.
Madrid, September 2010.- Spanish society has no consciousness that neglected tropical diseases are not thing of in developing countries. Neglected diseases are also hitting us to the Spaniards. Why it is essential to investigate them and RICET is a pioneer in this sense ” has declared AgustÃn Benito, Coordinator of the network of tropical diseases (RICET) belonging to the Carlos III Health Institute of the Ministry of science and innovation, on the occasion of its annual meeting, held on 9 and 10 September and which has taken stock of the research activities of this network constituted by 18 research groups in 10 national institutions belonging to 10 autonomous communities.
AgustÃn Benito has emphasized the activity of the platform of animal experimentation of RICET, where innovative and sophisticated as the bioluminescence or rangefinder monitoring techniques are applied. Especially important is the development of unique models of infection murina tropical pathogens such as Leishmania, Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei and P.falciparum generating different parasites with expression of the main antigens and targets related to the protection and therapeutic response. This platform serves also other national research networks and international and has carried out 20 experiments with a total of 760 animals used.
RICET coordinator mentioned also as major milestones achieved to date two models of vaccines against Leishmaniasis, a method of data collection useful for differential diagnosis of Chagas disease and to evaluate the response to treatment, as well as the development of two platforms clinical epidemiological in two low-income countries such as Equatorial Guinea and Ethiopia. RICET has also participated in the discussion of document consensus on the disease of Chagas imported, coordinated by the World Health Organization, document that was presented the international traveller medicine Congress.
Collaborative projects developed by RICET encompass issues such as the application of Proteomics to the development of new therapeutic strategies and check against leishmaniasis, the discovery of new agents for the treatment of malaria, the identification of new drugs in sleeping sickness, development of molecules candidate vaccine against infection by Leishmania infantum and Trypanosoma cruzi or identification of immunological markers of severity and evolution of the Chagas disease syndrome.
Equally Agustin Benito told attendees also how have created the network of research REDIVI, cooperative network for the study of diseases imported by travelers and immigrants.
