24/09/04

Mystery of malaria drug resistance solved

Antimalarial tablets Copyright: WHO/TDR/Crump

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<h1>Mystery of malaria drug resistance solved</h1>
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<p>In a major medical breakthrough, researchers in the United Kingdom and United States have discovered why the malaria parasite (<em>Plasmodium falciparum</em>) has become resistant to chloroquine, one of the most effective anti-malarial treatments ever developed. The research is published today (24 September) in the journal <em>Molecular Cell.</em></p>
<p>Researchers at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, found that a parasite protein creates a ‘back door’ out of which drugs can leak before they can kill the parasite. The researchers believe the protein could also play a role in the parasite’s resistance to other drugs.</p>
<p>The discovery opens the way for the development of new treatments for malaria, which the World Health Organisation estimates kills more than one million people a year. The researchers envisage a modified version of chloroquine that the parasite’s ‘back door’ protein cannot remove.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.news-medical.net/?id=5024" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to full News-Medical.Net news story</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WSR-4DCTMKK-6&_coverDate=09%2F24%2F2004&_alid=203843854&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_qd=1&_cdi=7053&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e0d0e74b78dd64c6f9367b9d76134a0e" target="_blank" onclick="pageTracker._trackPageview('/tracking/external/'+this.href);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Link to abstract of research paper in <em>Molecular Cell</em></a></p>
<p>Reference: <em>Molecular Cell </em>15, 867 (2004)</p>

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<p>This article was originally published on <a href="https://www.scidev.net" target="_blank">SciDev.Net</a>. Read the <a href="https://www.scidev.net/global/news/mystery-of-malaria-drug-resistance-solved/" target="_blank">original article</a>.</p>
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In a major medical breakthrough, researchers in the United Kingdom and United States have discovered why the malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum) has become resistant to chloroquine, one of the most effective anti-malarial treatments ever developed. The research is published today (24 September) in the journal Molecular Cell.

Researchers at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, found that a parasite protein creates a ‘back door’ out of which drugs can leak before they can kill the parasite. The researchers believe the protein could also play a role in the parasite’s resistance to other drugs.

The discovery opens the way for the development of new treatments for malaria, which the World Health Organisation estimates kills more than one million people a year. The researchers envisage a modified version of chloroquine that the parasite’s ‘back door’ protein cannot remove.

Link to full News-Medical.Net news story

Link to abstract of research paper in Molecular Cell

Reference: Molecular Cell 15, 867 (2004)