Researchers at the University of Florida have devised a new method that effectively delays the evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites.
A new method that effectively delays the evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites has been devised by researchers at the University of Florida.
David Smith, associate director of disease ecology at UF's Emerging Pathogens Institute and study's co-author, said that the new research would help scientists and policy makers in extending the longevity of current artemisinin-based malaria drugs combined with partner drugs.
Malaria - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Prevention, Treatment
Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters blood through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, shivering, sweating and other symptoms.
Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters blood through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, shivering, sweating and other symptoms.
They found that using two or three drugs simultaneously reduced the total clinical cases and number of failed treatments, and slowed the rate at which drug-resistant genes spread within the parasites that cause malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale.
"The models indicate that we can slow the evolution of resistance to current artemisinin-based therapies if nations use them in combination with two or more partner drugs," Smith said.
About Mosquito Diseases
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
"This is not to say that implementing multiple first-line therapies solves all of our malaria problems. Anti-malarial drug development needs to continue so that we have novel and highly effective anti-malarials that can be plugged into the recommended strategy of deploying multiple therapies," Boni said.
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"We don't have anything in the pipeline after ACTs, and it's basically just a matter of time until drug resistance evolves and artemisinin also fails. So the question becomes how do we keep ACTs in our arsenal for as long as effectively possible?" Smith said.
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Study Finds Malaria Spurt Sparked After the Parasite Learnt to Switch Hosts
In a breakthrough study, researchers at Osaka University in Japan have found that the spurt of malaria in species as diverse as humans, birds, and mice occurred when the species-specific
In a breakthrough study, researchers at Osaka University in Japan have found that the spurt of malaria in species as diverse as humans, birds, and mice occurred when the species-specific
Smith said this occurred because cycling a single drug degraded the parasite's average fitness, which made it easier for drug-resistant genes to spread throughout the parasite population.
The cycling models predicted a declining therapeutic value of a single drug within 3.54 years, versus a longer effective therapeutic value of 9.95 years when three drugs were used in equal proportions within a population.
"Using multiple first-line drugs reduces the selection pressure for resistance to a single drug. This is one way to make the ACTs last longer and benefit more people," Smith said.
The study is scheduled to publish online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and in print on Sept. 16.
Source-ANI
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