Tata Institute of Fundamental Research researchers have established that repeated doses of glucose given along with anti-malarial drugs-can help patients recover faster and in a better way.
Researchers at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) have now established that repeated doses of glucose given along with anti-malarial drugs-can help patients recover faster and in a better way.
The result of the present study has taken into focus the energy requirements of the malarial parasite in RBCs or the red blood cells. Once the RBCs get infected with the malarial parasite, not only does it draw energy from the infected cell but robs glucose from the adjacent cells that are otherwise healthy. This fact can explain the weakness experienced by patients with malaria.‘We now believe glucose intake will enormously help malaria patients, especially children, said Shobona Sharma, TIFR professor of biological sciences, in an interview.
If this path breaking research were found to be safe and effective, we could soon have a new weapon to conquer this world's most devastating human infection, which accounts for 300-500 million clinical cases and 3 million deaths every year.
