Researchers search for ways to predict antimalarial drug resistance and identify more effective drug combinations.

Transcript

The front-line treatment for malaria is typically a combination of drugs called artemisinin-based combination therapy. Resistance to treatment has already been reported in mild cases of malaria, but now, for the first time, it’s also being reported in severe cases of malaria. Severe malaria cases are more likely to end in a fatal outcome, so drug resistance in these scenarios poses a risk to human life. To try and stay one step ahead of resistance, researchers tested compounds and combed through publications to identify 118 compounds active against over 700 parasite clones to see how the parasites evolve under pressure, and to identify mutations in the parasite genome likely to be associated with drug resistance. They confirmed that Plasmodium falciparum – the deadliest and most prevalent species of the malaria parasite – evolves relatively easily, with mutations that affect the drug’s mechanism of action and which move through the population. The hope is that this dataset of drug resistance markers could provide an ‘early warning system’ – to predict drug resistance in the field and to identify a more effective drug combination.

Source

Artemisinin Partial Resistance in Ugandan Children With Complicated Malaria (JAMA)

Systematic in vitro evolution in Plasmodium falciparum reveals key determinants of drug resistance (Science)

About The Podcast

The Johns Hopkins Malaria Minute podcast is produced by the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute to highlight impactful malaria research and to share it with the global community.