An overview of Leishmaniasis with a focus on the island of Cyprus.

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease of tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe which is classified as a neglected tropical disease. There is a paucity of knowledge for this disease especially in some parts of the world where leishmaniasis is endemic such as Cyprus island in the Mediterranean. This narrative review revealed cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) as the dominant type of human leishmaniasis in the island. Host and disease type identification studies based on cats, dogs and rats showed Leishmania infantum parasite to be the leading species among others with a seroprevalence rate ranging from 3.55% to 14.9% in selected hosts with an indication of dogs as the main animal reservoir. Lack of focus on potential wild animal hosts creates an important evidence gap to overcome for the purpose of controlling leishmaniasis. We aim to present asynoptical review of leishmaniasis to critically analyse currently available data in literature about this disease in Cyprus.

Combined effects of quercetin and curcumin on anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial parameters in vitro.

In this in-vitro study, combinatory anti-inflammatory interactions between Quercetin (Q) and Curcumin (C) along with their combined antimicrobial activity against MRSA were studied. Anti-inflammatory markers of (i) COX-2 expression, (ii) NFκß activation and (iii) NO levels were investigated. Antimicrobial synergy was tested by checkerboard assay. We found that, treatment with the "low-concentration combination group" (QC), where Q and C were combined, resulted in significant downregulation of COX-2 expression (P < 0.0001) and inhibition of NFκß activation in cells (P < 0.0001), to a similar extent to that induced by higher concentrations of Q and C alone. QC treatment was also found to induce a significant reduction in NO production (P < 0.0001). QC was significantly more effective in the reduction of total NO levels when compared to Q alone (P < 0.001). Checkerboard assay indicated that the combination of Q and C provides better killing of MRSA in lower dilutions than standalone Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations. These results suggest that combining low concentrations of Q and C yield similar or better anti-inflammatory effectiveness when compared to treatment with each agent alone. Moreover, they co-operate synergistically in the context of antimicrobial activity, with an increased effectiveness when compared to Q or C alone at high concentrations.