Background:
The human malaria parasite remains a burden in developing nations. It is responsible for up to one million deaths a year, a number that could rise due to increasing multi-drug resistance to all antimalarial drugs currently available. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the discovery of new drug therapies. Recently, our laboratory developed a simple one-step fluorescence-based live cell-imaging assay to integrate the complex biology of the human malaria parasite into drug discovery. Here we used our newly developed live cell-imaging platform to discover novel marine natural products and their cellular phenotypic effects against the most lethal malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Read More
High content live cell imaging for the discovery of new antimalarial marine natural products
Novel drug wipes out deadliest malaria parasite through starvation
December 7, 2011—(BRONX, NY)—An antimalarial agent developed by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University proved effective at clearing infections caused by the malaria parasite most lethal to humans – by literally starving the parasites to death. The novel research, carried out on a small number of non-human primates, could bolster efforts to develop more potent therapies against one of the world’s leading killers. The study, published in the November 11, 2011 issue of PLoS ONE, was led by senior author Vern Schramm, Ph.D., professor and Ruth Merns Chair in Biochemistry at Einstein. Read More
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Parasitology Research Trends (Advances in Biology and Medicine) :: Amazon Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. Many molecular tools have been developed over the pa |
Protection from severe malaria explained
Defective hemoglobin prevents the establishment of an important transport system of the malaria parasite in infected blood cells- Heidelberg researchers’ results published in Science Read More
Contrasting patterns of malaria drug resistance found between humans and mosquitoes
A study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and their Zambian colleagues detected contrasting patterns of drug resistance in malaria-causing parasites taken from both humans and mosquitoes in rural Zambia. Read More
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Apicomplexan Parasites: Molecular Approaches toward Targeted Drug Development (Drug Discovery in Infectious Diseases) :: Amazon This handbook deals with the discovery of drugs to fight apicomplexan parasites, a group of endoparasites that includes the causative agents |
Dormant malaria parasites in red blood cells may contribute to treatment failure
A rodent model shows the earliest form of parasites can recover following antimalarial drug therapy
Tampa, FL — Researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) College of Public College Health have shown for the first time in a rodent model that the earliest form of malaria parasites can lay dormant in red blood cells and “wake up,” or recover, following treatment with the antimalarial drug artesunate. Read More
Specific, sensitive and rapid detection of human Plasmodium knowlesi infection by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) in blood samples
Background:
The emergence of Plasmodium knowlesi in humans, which is in many cases misdiagnosed by microscopy as Plasmodium malariae due to the morphology similarity, has contributed to the needs of detection and differentiation of malaria parasites. Up to date, nested PCR targeted on Plasmodium ssrRNA genes is described as the most sensitive and specific method for Plasmodium detection. However, this methodology is costly and requires trained personnel for its implementation. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), a novel nucleic acid amplification method was developed for the clinical detection of P. knowlesi. The sensitivity and specificity of LAMP was evaluated in comparison to the results obtained via microscopic examination and nested PCR. Read More
Investigating the evolution of apoptosis in malaria parasites: the importance of ecology
Apoptosis is a precisely regulated process of cell death which occurs widely in multicellular organisms and is essential for normal development and immune defences. In recent years, interest has grown in the occurrence of apoptosis in unicellular organisms. In particular, as apoptosis has been reported in a wide range of species, including protozoan malaria parasites and trypanosomes, it may provide a novel target for intervention. However, it is important to understand when and why parasites employ an apoptosis strategy before the likely long- and short-term success of such an intervention can be evaluated. Read More
Malaria research begins to bite
Scientists at The University of Nottingham and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute near Cambridge have pin-pointed the 72 molecular switches that control the three key stages in the life cycle of the malaria parasite and have discovered that over a third of these switches can be disrupted in some way. Read More
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New Methods, New Math Speed Detection of Drug-Resistant Malaria
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University developed techniques to quickly identify evolution of drug resistance in strains of malaria.
Their goal is to enable the medical community to react quickly to inevitable resistance and thereby save lives while increasing the lifespan of drugs used against the disease.
Currently, disease monitoring requires months of clinical trials. The new methods can provide more information in just days, and far cheaper. Read More
Activation of Akt Signaling Reduces the Prevalence and Intensity of Malaria Parasite Infection and Lifespan in Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes
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Author Summary
For malaria transmission to occur, a mosquito must ingest and harbor the parasites for approximately two weeks while the parasites complete multiple developmental stages. Until development is complete and the malaria parasites invade the mosquito salivary glands, transmission to another host cannot occur. Upon completion of parasite development, transmission is possible with every subsequent bite. In this study we demonstrate that tissue-specific overexpression of a single activated protein kinase that is essential to insulin signaling in the mosquito can dramatically reduce parasite development. This kinase – Akt – has been described as a critical cell signaling node that regulates a range of physiological processes. In addition to the impact on parasite development, increased Akt signaling also reduced the average mosquito lifespan relative to controls, thereby limiting the window of opportunity for successful parasite transmission. Thus, we demonstrate that genetic manipulation of one key signaling protein directly reduces parasite development in the insect vector as well as the duration of mosquito infectivity.
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- Researchers engineer malaria-free mosquitoes (sfgate.com)
Blood-thinning copycat enters malaria fight
New treatments for malaria are possible after Walter and Eliza Hall Institute scientists found that molecules similar to the blood-thinning drug heparin can stop malaria from infecting red blood cells.
Malaria is an infection of red blood cells that is transmitted by mosquitoes. The most common form of malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum which burrows into red blood cells where it rapidly multiplies, leading to massive numbers of parasites in the blood stream that can cause severe disease and death.
Read More
Breakthrough by Danish scientists in preventing maternal malaria
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have become the first in the world to synthesize the entire protein that is responsible for life-threatening malaria in pregnant women and their unborn children. The protein known as VAR2CSA enables malaria parasites to accumulate in the placenta and can therefore potentially be used as the main component in a vaccine to trigger antibodies that protect pregnant women against malaria. The research team is now planning to test the efficacy of the protein-based vaccine on humans. The hope is that within 10 years all African girls could be vaccinated against maternal malaria, thereby preventing more than 200,000 deaths a year.
Read More
Disease Outbreaks- Avian influenza – situation in Indonesia – updateThe Indonesian IHR National Focal Point of the Ministry of Health has notified WHO of a new case of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus. […]
- Avian influenza – situation in Egypt – updateThe Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt has notified WHO of a new case of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus. […]
- Avian influenza – situation in Cambodia – updateThe Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Cambodia has announced a confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus. […]
- Lassa fever in NigeriaAt the beginning of 2012, WHO was notified by the Federal Ministry of Health in Nigeria of an outbreak of Lassa fever. As of March 22, 2012, 623 suspected cases, including 70 deaths have been recorded from 19 of the 36 States since the beginning of the year. Laboratory analysis undertaken at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua Edo State has confirm […]
- Avian influenza – situation in Egypt – updateThe Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt has notified WHO of two new cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus. […]
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Cheap Calls to Kenya
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