Proud moment for Seemanchal region and Bihar, Mumtaz Naiyer the young scientist from Kishanganj district has got his first article published after his important findings about the disease Leishmaniasis which is commonly known as Kala-azar. Naiyer had done an extensive research on Kala-azar for past several months finally come up with an exciting result and his work was noticed by the scientist across the world. The article is being published by ASHI (American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics) with the heading “Identification and characterization of a human IL-10 receptor antagonist” and made online on October 2, 2012.
Here in this research article Naiyer et al. have identified a new drug called Interleukin-10 receptor antagonist through a high throughput drug discovery tool called phage display technology. This drug has been tested in Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) in in-vitro condition and found to be effective. The science behind the identification of the peptide antagonist is cutting edge and very thorough. If this is truly the first peptide IL-10 Receptor antagonist and it can be used in humans, it will revolutionize treatment of many diseases in which IL-10 suppresses the immune response, for example, Kala-azar, HIV and Cancer etc.
Naiyer shared about his paper and topic over phone with KishanganjBihar.com (KBC) editor over phone. He said, currently Leishmaniasis (kala-azar) cases are found in four continents and is considered to be endemic in 88 countries, 72 of which are developing countries. Of the 500,000 new cases of visceral leishmaniasis that occur annually, 90% are in Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nepal, and Sudan. One of the major threats to control of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is its interaction with HIV infection. VL has emerged as an important opportunistic infection associated with HIV. In areas endemic for VL, many people have asymptomatic infection. A concomitant HIV infection increases the risk of developing active VL by between 100 and 2320 times. In southern Europe, up to 70% of cases of visceral leishmaniasis in adults are associated with HIV infection (WHO data).
Further he added that there is an urgent need to develop new therapies for the treatment of VL as the available treatments are remaining unsatisfactory. Furthermore the present drugs cause high toxicity and ineffective due to drug resistance. So now it’s inevitable to reduce drug toxicity and long-term hospitalization and also to prevent drug resistance by adopting new strategies. Successful treatment of kala-azar is thought to depend, at least in part, on alterations in the host immune response to the parasite, therefore, direct manipulation of the immune response, either alone or in combination with drugs, might be a useful strategy for improving treatment regimens for VL.
Naiyer is very happy over his achievement and thanked his family members, friends especially elder brother for helping him always. The proud young scientist said that this is just the beginning and he has to go ahead with more and more findings. While talking with KBC Editor, Naiyer told that his another paper on some other topic (finding) is ready and he expects it to get published after the recent paper. KishanganjBihar.com congratulates Naiyer on his achievement on behalf of people of Seemanchal and Bihar.
