Flu is a serious health, medical, and economic problem, but no therapy is yet available that has satisfactory results and reduces the occurrence of these problems. Nearly 20 years after the registration of the previous therapy, baloxavir marboxil, a drug with a new mechanism of action, recently appeared on the market. This is a promising step in the fight against the influenza virus. This article presents the possibilities of using all available antiviral drugs specific for influenza A and B. We compare all currently recommended anti-influenza medications, considering their mechanisms of action, administration, indications, target groups, effectiveness, and safety profiles. We demonstrate that baloxavir marboxil presents a similar safety and efficacy profile to those of drugs already used in the treatment of influenza. Further research on combination therapy is highly recommended and may have promising results.

Parasites may significantly affect the functioning of the host organism including immune response and gut-brain-axis ultimately leading to alteration of the host behavior. The impact of intestinal worms on the host central nervous system (CNS) remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of intestinal infection by the tapeworm Hymenolepis diminuta on behavior and functions of the CNS in rats. The 3 months old animals were infected, and the effects on anxiety, exploration, sensorimotor skills and learning processes were assessed at 18 months in Open Field (OF), Novel Object Recognition (NOR) and the Water Maze (WM) tests. After completing the behavioral studies, both infected and non-infected rats were sacrificed, and the collected tissues were subjected to biochemical analysis. The levels of neurotransmitters, their metabolites and amino acids in selected structures of the CNS were determined by HPLC. In addition, the gene expression profile of the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-10) was evaluated by Real-Time PCR to determine the immune response within the CNS to the tapeworm infection. The parasites caused significant changes in exploratory behavior, most notably, a reduction of velocity and total distance moved in the OF test; the infected rats exhibited decreased frequency in the central zone, which may indicate a higher level of anxiety. Additionally, parasite infestation improved spatial memory, assessed in the WM test, and recognition of new objects. These changes are related to the identified reduction in noradrenaline level in the CNS structures and less pronounced changes in striatal serotonergic neurotransmission. H. diminuta infestation was also found to cause a significant reduction of hippocampal expression of IL-6. Our results provide new data for further research on brain function during parasitic infections especially in relation to helminths and diseases in which noradrenergic system may play an important role.

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