In this week's PLoS Medicine, Michael Delves of Imperial College London, UK and colleagues compare the activity of 50 current and experimental antimalarials against liver, sexual blood, and mosquito stages of selected human and nonhuman parasite species, including Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium berghei, and Plasmodium yoelii.
These results provide a valuable guide to help researchers decide which drugs and compounds show most promise as potential future antimalarial drugs for blocking the transmission of malaria.
The authors say: "This information might guide decisions regarding which molecules could be optimally combined to provide the next generation of drugs that will succeed to artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) and support the eradication of malaria. This comprehensive approach to drug discovery has potential utility for targeting other pathogens with complex life cycles."
More information: Delves M, Plouffe D, Scheurer C, Meister S, Wittlin S, et al. (2012) The Activities of Current Antimalarial Drugs on the Life Cycle Stages of Plasmodium Life Cycle: A Comparative Study with Human and Rodent Parasites. PLoS Med 9(2): e1001169. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001169
Provided by Public Library of Science
