Discovery of variations in resistance to sulfadoxine acr...( Researchers have discovered that mal...),Health
Researchers have discovered that malaria parasites in east and west Africa carry different resistance mutations, which suggests that the effectiveness of sulfadoxine as an antimalarial drug may vary across Africa.
The findings have implications for the manner in which malaria control campaigns are carried out, and suggest that coordinating efforts between parts of Africa that share similar patterns of resistance is likely to be more effective than working in isolation in each country.
Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) a mosquito-borne parasite that causes malaria, kills nearly one million people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. Until recently, treatment in Africa relied on chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Unfortunately, parasites have developed resistance to both these drugs by acquiring 'resistance mutations', genetic changes that prevent the drugs from killing them.
Scientists have discovered that the mutations that caused resistance to chloroquine and pyrimethamine originated in Asia and spread into Africa in the late 1970s and early 1980s respectively. These mutations are now common across Africa and it is no longer possible to determine how they spread across the continent. However, the mutations that cause resistance to sulfadoxine only began to emerge in the mid-1990s, and have not yet spread evenly across Africa.
A study published today in PloS Medicine, and led by Dr. Cally Roper of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, used genetic methods to characterise how resistance to sulfadoxine has spread across Africa, with a view to determining its geographical origins in order to help improve measures aimed at controlling the spread of drug-resistant P. falciparum.
The team analysed blood samples collected from patients with malaria in various African countries, and searched the scientific literature for other similar studies. They discovered five major v
'/>"/>
| Contact: Gemma Howe gemma.howe@lshtm.ac.uk 44-782-861-7901 London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Source:Eurekalert |
Related medicine news :
1. Discovery of sugar sensor in intestine could benefit diabetes
2. Discovery suggests location of genes for breast density, a strong risk factor for breast cancer
3. Stem cell research produces a key discovery for Fragile X Syndrome
4. Welch Foundation gives $1.6 million for drug discovery research
5. New discovery leaves blood-doping athletes scratching their heads
6. Chemical Diversity Initiates International Prostrate Cancer Discovery Partnership
7. New discovery leaves blood-doping athletes scratching their heads
8. Discovery of widespread tumor growth gene holds promise for effective anti-cancer treatment
9. Discovery supports theory of Alzheimers disease as form of diabetes
10. Discovery Health CME Explores the Benefits and Risks of Aspirin in Aspirin Therapy: Maximizing the Benefits
11. New discovery may improve treatment of one of the worlds leading causes of blindness
| Copyright © 2003-2009 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |