Based on the conditions of this study, we conclude that each cell line responds differently to specific wavelength and dose combinations. Further investigations are required to investigate the physiological mechanisms responsible for the contrasting outcomes obtained when using laser irradiation on cultured normal and malignant bone cells.

Giardia duodenalis is a protozoal, intestinal parasite that is a common aetiological agent of infectious diarrhoea in humans worldwide. Chemotherapeutic intervention presently offers a limited range of drugs and these are usually only employed after clinical diagnosis. Moreover, these drugs are ineffective against the infectious cysts, can produce unpleasant side effects, and are expensive with limited availability in developing countries. Frequent reports of drug toxicity, treatment failure and parasite drug resistance have, in some instances, also resulted in the increasing reluctance to over-prescribe synthetic anti-microbials. Alternatively, there is now mounting evidence to suggest that some of the naturally derived, medium-chain, saturated fatty acids (MCSFAs) possess anti-microbial and anti-parasitic properties. We have therefore examined the effects of four different fatty acids on G. duodenalis trophozoites in vitro. Cytotoxicity was determined using fluorescence, scanning and transmission electron microscopic techniques and standard cytotoxicity assays. Our studies have confirmed that the MCSFA, dodecanoic acid (C: 12) (common name: lauric acid), is anti-giardial, with an LD50 concentration comparable to that of metronidazole, the drug of choice in the treatment of giardiasis. Dodecanoic acid appeared to induce trophozoite death by accumulating within the parasite cytoplasm resulting in rupture of the cell membrane. This study has opened fresh avenues for development of natural drug therapy in which food supplementation may augment, or even replace, some of the standard chemotherapeutic agents presently employed in the treatment of giardiasis and possibly other infectious intestinal diseases.

Despite successful seeding of bioscaffolds with osteoblasts, laser phototherapy resulted in a reduction in cell growth compared to non-irradiated controls. Future research combining laser phototherapy and glass-ceramic scaffolds should take into account possible interactions of the laser with matrix compounds.

An axenic culture of Giardia was established from a sample of infected intestine obtained following autopsy of a sulphur-crested cockatoo (Cacatua galerita). The cockatoo recently captured in the wild and with good muscle tone died along with several other cage mates, apparently of an overwhelming, acute infection of Giardia. Trophozoites which established in the traditional, axenic Giardia medium (TYI-S-33 with supplementary bile) were morphologically identical to G. duodenalis. When outbred Quackenbush Swiss neonatal mice were infected with trophozoites a chronic infection was established and parasites were still present at 38 days post-inoculation. Weight gain by infected mice was reduced by 20%, thus mimicking failure-to-thrive syndrome in children, and maximum parasite load was more than 3-fold higher in comparison with other G. duodenalis strains. Analysis of the electrophoretic karyotype, rDNA and hybridization studies together with Giemsa- and trichrome-stained samples, and scanning electron microscopy indicated that the bird-derived Giardia belonged to the duodenalis group. This is the first report of infection of mammals with Giardia isolated from a bird. These data may have potentially serious implications for contamination of watersheds and establishment of zoonotic infections.

Before a definitive conclusion can be made regarding the safety of laser for breast cancer-related lymphoedema, further in vivo research is required.

One of the greatest challenges for healthcare professionals is the prevention and treatment of protozoal and helminthic parasitic infections. From our study we conclude that the prevalence of different pathogenic species of amoeba such as Entamoeba histolytica (4.2 vs. 0%) and G. lamblia (17.9 vs. 14%), (P value was equal to 1) was significantly higher among rural children compared to children from urban areas. In contrast, the prevalence of nematodes such as A. lumbricoides (21% vs. 1.1%), T. trichiura (8% vs. 0%) and A. duodenale (1%) was also significantly higher among rural children.

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