ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY - VOL. 49

This volume contains four reviews on the following topics - Two reviews on the biology of trypanosomes (a parasitic protozoan) and trypanosomiasis (disease caused by the parasite, such as sleeping sickness and Chagas' disease), a topical area in public health, especially in Africa and South America, and much research in epidemiology and molecular biology/biochemistry. A review summarizing the literature on the biology of Echinostomes (parasitic flatworms), focusing on descriptions and life cycle studies, experimental studies and physiology, and biochemistry and molecular biology. A review on the importance of apoptosis (programmed cell death) in the interaction between host and parasite - how it is used in both the parasite 'attacking' the host, and in the host's defense mechanisms. This has implications in the evolution of parasite and host systems, and also in identifying the underlying causes of diseases caused by parasites.