This is promising. If it becomes possible to eliminate one hundredpercent of the parasitic load, then it may become possible to targetdisease eradication itself through planned isolation that blocks anychance of reinfection until a district is cleansed. It has been donebefore, but this drug could make it quick enough to allow other fastacting tools to be applied cheaply.
Cleansing Terra of malaria is a richly to be desired objective. Wehave done it and can do it with the right tools.
Again this discovery promises to take time and it may turn out tosimply not work at all when we go to human trials, but we can hope
New opportunity forrapid treatment of malaria
by Staff Writers
London, UK (SPX)Oct 31, 2012
Initial tests showedthe molecules were able to kill strains of Plasmodium that havedeveloped a resistance to current treatments, although the scientistssay more experiments are needed to confirm these results.
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/New_opportunity_for_rapid_treatment_of_malaria_999.html
Malaria causes up to 3million deaths each year, predominantly afflicting vulnerable peoplesuch as children under five and pregnant women, in tropical regionsof Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Treatments are available for thisdisease, but the Plasmodium parasite is fast becoming resistant tothe most common drugs, and health authorities say theydesperately need new strategies to tackle the disease.
This new potentialtreatment uses molecules that interfere with an important stage ofthe parasite's growth cycle and harnesses this effect to kill them.The impact is so acute it kills ninety per cent of the parasitesin just three hours and all those tested in laboratory samples ofinfected human blood cells, within twelve hours.
The research wascarried out by chemists at Imperial College London and biologicalscientists from the research institutions Institut Pasteur and CNRSin France. Their work is published in the journal Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Leadresearcher Dr Matthew Fuchter, from Imperial College London, said:"Plasmodium falciparum causes 90 per cent of malariadeaths, and its ability to resist current therapies is spreadingdramatically. Whilst many new drugs are in development, a significantproportion are minor alterations, working in the same way as currentones and therefore may only be effective in the short term. Webelieve we may have identified the parasite's 'Achilles' Heel', usinga molecule that disrupts many vital processes for its survival anddevelopment."
The research hasidentified two chemical compounds that affect Plasmodium falciparum'sability to carry out transcription, the key process that translatesgenetic code into proteins. These compounds are able to kill theparasite during the long period of its complex life cycle while itinhabits the blood-stream. This is in contrast to the majority ofantimalarial drugs, whose action is limited to shorter stages ofPlasmodium's life cycle.
"One particularlyexciting aspect of this discovery is this new molecule's ability torapidly kill off all traces of the parasite, acting at least as fastas the best currently available antimalarial drug," said DrFuchter.
Initial tests alsoshowed the molecules were able to kill strains of Plasmodium thathave developed a resistance to current treatments, although thescientists say more experiments are needed to confirm these results.
The scientists hope torefine these molecules, improving their effectiveness and provingthis to be a viable strategy for treating malaria in humans. Theyhope it will lead to the development of an effective malaria curewithin the next ten years.
This researchwas published in the journal Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Sciences (PNAS).
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder