Publicaties

Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine have been proposed recently as therapy for SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, but during 3 months of extensive use concerns were raised related to their clinical effectiveness and arrhythmogenic risk. Therefore, we estimated for these compounds several proarrhythmogenic risk predictors according to the Comprehensive in vitro Proarrhythmia Assay (CiPA) paradigm. Experiments were performed with either CytoPatch™2 ...

The cardiac Mg2+-sensitive, TRPM6, and TRPM7-like channels remain undefined, especially with the uncertainty regarding TRPM6 expression in cardiomyocytes. Additionally, their contribution to the cardiac action potential (AP) profile is unclear. Immunofluorescence assays showed the expression of the TRPM6 and TRPM7 proteins in isolated pig atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes, of which the expression was modulated by incubation in extracellular ...

The expression of the channels-enzymes TRPM6 and TRPM7 in the human heart remains poorly defined, and TRPM6 is generally considered not to be expressed in cardiomyocytes. We examined their expression at protein and mRNA levels using right atrial samples resected from patients (n = 72) with or without ischemic heart disease (IHD) and samples from all chamber walls of explanted human hearts (n = 9). TRPM6 and TRPM7 proteins were detected using ...

BACKGROUND: Predictions have been made that Africa would be the most vulnerable continent to the novel Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Interestingly, the spread of the disease in Africa seems to have been delayed and initially slower than in many parts of the world. Here we report on two cases of respiratory distress in our region before the official declaration of the disease in December 2019, cases which in the present times would be ...

There is currently increased interest in the use of the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of other diseases, including cancer and viral infections such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the risk of cardiotoxic effects tends to limit their use. In this review, the effects of these drugs on the electrical and mechanical activities of the heart as well as on remodelling of cardiac tissue are ...

INTRODUCTION: Typhoid fever is a major public health problem in developing countries because of the obsolescence of health infrastructure and of an almost non-existent water distribution network. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in general, and in Bukavu, in particular, blood culture is inaccessible to the majority of patients. This study aimed to assess the sensitivity of Salmonella spp to antibiotics commonly used for the tratment of ...

INTRODUCTION: In Bukavu, transfused blood is selected using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). These tests are easily performed without specialized equipments. This study aims to evaluate the virological quality of transfused blood assessed using rapid diagnostic tests. METHODS: A blood sample was drawn from a blood bag and collected in a 4ml dry tube in 5 Health Care Facilities over a month. Counter analysis was performed on each sample using rapid ...

We investigated the relationship between malaria infection and iron status in 531 pregnant women in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sociodemographic data, information on morbidity, and clinical data were collected. A blood sample was collected at the first antenatal visit to diagnose malaria and measure serum ferritin (SF), soluble transferrin receptor, C-reactive protein, and α1-acid-glycoprotein. Malaria prevalence was 7.5%. ...

INTRODUCTION: Use of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) has improved the management of this disease. We evaluated the validity of the SD-Bioline Malaria-Ag-Pf/Pan™ (Batch 60952) RDT supplied by the Malaria Control Program of the DRCongo. METHODS: cChildren (n = 460) aged below 5 years seen in curative care (CC) for suspected malaria and in pre-school consultation (PSC) in two rural centers underwent clinical evaluation and capillary blood ...

TRPM7 channels participate in a variety of physiological/pathological processes. TRPM7 currents are modulated by protons but opposing effects of external pH (pHo) (potentiation vs inhibition) have been reported. TRPM7 has been less studied in human cardiomyocytes than in heart-derived non-cardiomyocyte cells. We used the whole-cell patch-clamp technique on isolated human atrial cardiomyocytes to investigate the impact of an acidic pHo on the ...