Schistosomiasis and liver disease: Learning from the past to understand the present

Abstract

To diagnose schistosomiasis, past medical history review should include recent travel to or from an endemic area, a history of elevated liver enzymes as well as contact with contaminated sources of water or farm animals.

Schistosoma Mansoni infection and hepatocellular carcinoma: A co-morbidity study

“…This association was explained by its activation of the proto-oncogenes; c-Jun signal transducer and transcription 3, whose role in liver inflammation and carcinogenesis is well established [1]. This study together with others suggest that chronic inflammation resulting from prolonged parasitic infections may encourage carcinogenesis by three mechanisms; first, chronic inflammation that damages host cell and gene expression by supporting the release of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species; second, insertion of oncogenes into the host genome particularly in the presence of hepatitis B and hepatitis C, stimulation of mitosis and inhibition of tumor suppressors; third, reduction of immune response and induction of immune suppression [11,12,28,38].…”