NIH-supported researchers identify new class of malaria compounds
2013-03-21
(Press-News.org) A group of researchers from 16 institutions around the world has identified a new class of anti-malarial compounds that target multiple stages of the malaria parasite's life cycle (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/malaria/pages/lifecycle.aspx). These compounds could potentially be developed into drugs that treat and prevent malaria infection. Known as 4-(1H)-quinolone-3-diarylethers, the candidate anti-malarials are derived from a compound called endochin that effectively treats malaria in birds. When tested in the laboratory and in mice, the compounds demonstrated strong activity against Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, the two parasites that cause most human cases of malaria. Transmitted via a mosquito bite, malaria causes cycles of chills, fever and fatigue, and is responsible for roughly 660,000 deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization. New drugs are needed because of the emergence of malaria-inducing parasites that are resistant to existing medications.
Of the 4-(1H)-quinolones, the researchers focused their efforts on the compound ELQ-300, which inhibited malaria parasites during the erythrocytic stage, when they cause symptoms in humans; as well as during the gametocyte and developmental stages in the mosquito, when the parasites are transmitted. In addition, when ELQ-300 was administered to mice infected with the Plasmodium species that cause malaria in mice, the infection was cured. The study results also suggested that the compound could be adapted into a once-daily dose in humans and would be slow to engender resistance. The researchers are currently proceeding with preclinical development of ELQ-300.
The study, which will be published March 20, was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, both part of the National Institutes of Health; the Wellcome Trust; and Medicines for Malaria Venture.
###
ARTICLE:
Nilsen A et al. Quinolone-3-diarylethers: A new class of drugs for a new era of malaria eradication. Science Translational Medicine DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3005029 (2013).
M. John Rogers, Ph.D., a biologist in NIAID's Parasitology and International Programs Branch, is available to discuss the findings.
To schedule interviews, please contact Nalini Padmanabhan, (301) 402-1663, niaidnews@niaid.nih.gov.
NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.
NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health ®
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2013-03-21
Scientists at UC San Francisco have discovered how memory recall is linked to decision-making in rats, showing that measurable activity in one part of the brain occurs when rats in a maze are playing out memories that help them decide which way to turn. The more they play out these memories, the more likely they are to find their way correctly to the end of the maze.
In their study, reported this week in the journal Neuron, the UCSF researchers implanted electrodes directly on a region of the rat brain known as the hippocampus, which is already known to play a key role ...
2013-03-21
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that a new imaging dye, designed and developed at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, is an effective agent in detecting and mapping cancers that have reached the lymph nodes. The radioactive dye called Technetium Tc-99m tilmanocept, successfully identified cancerous lymph nodes and did a better job of marking cancers than the current standard dye. Results of the Phase III clinical trial published online today in the Annals of Surgical Oncology.
"Tilmanocept is a novel engineered radiopharmaceutical ...
2013-03-21
Monsoon rainfall in the Northern Hemisphere impacts about 60% of the World population in Southeast Asia, West Africa and North America. Given the possible impacts of global warming, solid predictions of monsoon rainfall for the next decades are important for infrastructure planning and sustainable economic development. Such predictions, however, are very complex because they require not only pinning down how manmade greenhouse gas emissions will impact the monsoons and monsoon rainfall, but also a knowledge of natural long-term climate swings, about which little is known ...
2013-03-21
"Aiden, look!" piped NAO, a two-foot tall humanoid robot, as it pointed to a flat-panel display on a far wall. As the cartoon dog Scooby Doo flashed on the screen, Aiden, a young boy with an unruly thatch of straw-colored hair, looked in the direction the robot was pointing.
Aiden, who is three-and-a-half years old, has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). NAO (pronounced "now") is the diminutive "front man" for an elaborate system of cameras, sensors and computers designed specifically to help children like Aiden learn how to coordinate their attention ...
2013-03-21
(CHICAGO) – Infections, as the news has shown time and again, can be deadly. Periprothesthetic joint infection (PJI) is the infection of grave concern to the orthopedic community, especially in its growingly common antibiotic-resistant form. This all-too-common infection can be found deep inside the joint prosthesis following joint replacement surgery.
Javad Parvizi, MD, and colleagues at the Rothman Institute at Jefferson have worked for years to find a solution to this sometimes deadly infection. Their most recent work has attempted to determine the optimal thresholds ...
2013-03-21
(CHICAGO) – Platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy has been used to manage pain associated with torn tendons, muscles and ligaments, mostly in athletes, at all levels. Though it has anecdotally been successful, the evidence to support its efficaciousness is weak. Researchers at the Rothman Institute at Jefferson participated in a multi-center randomized prospective study to evaluate the clinical value of PRP versus an active control group to determine its effectiveness in managing the pain and tenderness associated with tennis elbow.
The results will be presented on Thursday, ...
2013-03-21
CHICAGO – Eighty-four percent of patients suffering from chronic tennis elbow (lateral epicondylar tendinopathy) reported significantly less pain and elbow tenderness at six months following platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatment, according to results from the largest, multi-center study, to date, on PRP and tennis elbow, presented today at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS).
Tennis elbow is a common, painful condition affecting approximately 1 to 2 percent of the population. In this study, 230 patients suffering from chronic ...
2013-03-21
CHICAGO — A new study, presented today at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), identifies predictors of complications and mortality following a hip fracture, including dialysis, cardiac disease, diabetes, and a longer time before surgery – the only modifiable risk factor when patients are hospitalized.
Each year, more than 340,000 Americans are hospitalized for hip fractures. According to AAOS data, 69 percent of hip fracture patients are female and 46 percent are between the ages of 65 and 84. Many hip fracture patients suffer ...
2013-03-21
A new study has found that Spanish nurses trained specifically to resolve acute health problems of low complexity provide care of comparable quality to that of general practitioners. Published early online in the Journal of Advanced Nursing, the findings suggest that nurses may be able to take on some of the care generally provided by physicians.
Mireia Fàbregas, MD, of the Institut Català de la Salut, in Barcelona, Spain, and her colleagues randomized 1461 adult patients who requested same day appointments to see either nurses trained to respond to problems with low ...
2013-03-21
CHICAGO -- Obesity alone may not diminish outcomes or increase the risk of complications in total knee replacement (TKR) patients, according to two research studies presented today at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). However, TKR replacement patients may face significantly longer hospital stays and related costs.
Total knee replacement in obese patients previously has been associated with increased post-operative complications and lower clinical function scores in multiple research studies.
In the study, "The Effect of ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] NIH-supported researchers identify new class of malaria compounds
