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Artemisinin

Open Access | Examining appropriate diagnosis and treatment of malaria: availability and use of rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapy in public and private health facilities in south east Nigeria

Author(s): 
Uzochukwu BS, Chiegboka LO, Enwereuzo C, Nwosu U, Okorafor D, Onwujekwe OE, Uguru NP, Sibeudu FT, Ezeoke OP
Reference: 
BMC Public Health 2010, 10:486 (16 August 2010)
Contact email: 
bscuzochukwu@yahoo.com

The study was undertaken in Enugu state, southeast Nigeria in March 2009. Data was collected from heads of 74 public and private health facilities on the availability and use of RDTs and ACTs. Also, the availability of RDTs and the types of ACTs that were available in the facilities were documented.

Open Access | Flavonoids from Artemisia annua L. as Antioxidants and Their Potential Synergism with Artemisinin against Malaria and Cancer

Author(s): 
Jorge F.S. Ferreira, Devanand L. Luthria, Tomikazu Sasaki, Arne Heyerick
Reference: 
Molecules 2010, Vol 15 Issue 5, P 3135-3170
Contact email: 
Jorge.Ferreira@ars.usda.gov

Artemisia annua is currently the only commercial source of the sesquiterpene lactone artemisinin.Since artemisinin was discovered as the active component of A. annua in early 1970s, hundreds of papers have focused on the anti-parasitic effects of artemisinin and its semi-synthetic analogs dihydroartemisinin, artemether, arteether, and artesunate.

Open Access | Community perceptions of malaria and malaria treatment behaviour in a rural district of Ghana: implications for artemisinin combination therapy

Author(s): 
Kwaku P., Livesy A., et al.
Reference: 
BMC Public Health 2010, 10:409

We report the perceptions of malaria and malaria treatment behaviour, the community awareness of and perceptions about AS-AQ two years after the introduction of this ACT treatment for malaria.

Open Access | Community acceptability of use of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria by community health workers in Uganda

Author(s): 
Mukanga D, Tibenderana JK, Kiguli J, Pariyo GW, Waiswa P, Bajunirwe F, Mutamba B, Counihan H, Ojiambo G, Kallander K
Reference: 
Malaria Journal 2010, 9:203 (13 July 2010)
Contact email: 
dmukanga@musph.ac.ug

Use of RDTs by CMDs is likely to be acceptable by community members given that CMDs are properly trained, and receive regular technical supervision and logistical support. A well-designed behaviour change communication strategy is needed to address the anticipated programmatic challenges as well as community fears and stigma about drawing blood.

Open Access | Perspective: Extensive Drug Resistance in Malaria and Tuberculosis

Author(s): 
Chansuda Wongsrichanalai, Comments to Author Jay K. Varma, Jonathan J. Juliano, Michael E. Kimerling, and John R. MacArthur
Reference: 
Emerg Infect Dis, Volume 16, Number 7–July 2010
Contact email: 
cwongsrichanalai@usaid.gov

Drug resistance in malaria and in tuberculosis (TB) are major global health problems. Although the terms multidrug-resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB are precisely defined, the term multidrug resistance is often loosely used when discussing malaria.

Open Access | Monitoring for Plasmodium falciparum drug resistance to artemisinin and artesunate in Binh Phuoc Province, Vietnam: 1998-2009

Author(s): 
Thanh NV, Toan TQ, Cowman AF, Casey GJ, Phuc BQ, Tien NT, Hung NM, Biggs B
Reference: 
Malaria Journal 2010, 9:181 (24 June 2010)
Contact email: 
ngovietthanh1955@yahoo.com

This study showed stable levels of P. falciparum sensitivity to artemisinin compounds in the two sites over a ten-year period.

Mechanisms of Resistance: Plasmodium falciparum Isolates with Increased pfmdr1 Copy Number Circulate in West Africa

Author(s): 
Benoit Witkowski, Marie-Laure Nicolau, Patrice Njomnang Soh, Xavier Iriart, Sandie Menard, Muriel Alvarez, Bruno Marchou, Jean-François Magnaval, Françoise Benoit-Vical, and Antoine Berry
Reference: 
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, July 2010, p. 3049-3051, Vol. 54, No. 7
Contact email: 
berry.a@chu-toulouse.fr

Amplification of pfmdr1 in Plasmodium falciparum is linked to resistance to aryl-amino-alcohols and in reduced susceptibility to artemisinins.

Open Access | Improvements in access to malaria treatment in Tanzania after switch to artemisinin combination therapy and the introduction of accredited drug dispensing outlets - a provider perspective

Author(s): 
Alba S, Hetzel MW, Goodman C, Dillip A, Liana J, Mshinda H, Lengeler C
Reference: 
Malaria Journal 2010, 9:164 (15 June 2010)
Contact email: 
sandra.alba@unibas.ch

The public health and private retail sector are important complementary sources of treatment in rural Tanzania. Ensuring the availability of ALu in the private retail sector is important for its successful uptake.

Review: Artemisinin combination therapy for vivax malaria

Author(s): 
Nicholas M Douglas, Nicholas M Anstey, Brian J Angus, Francois Nosten, Ric N Price
Reference: 
The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Volume 10, Issue 6, June 2010, Pages 405-416
Contact email: 
ric.price@menzies.edu.au

We review the evidence for the relative benefits and disadvantages of the existing separate treatment approach versus a unified ACT-based strategy for treating Plasmodium falciparum and P vivax infections in regions where both species are endemic (co-endemic).

Cysteamine, The Molecule used to treat Cystinosis, Potentiates The Anti-malarial efficacy of artemisinin

Author(s): 
Gundula Min-Oo, Anny Fortin, Jean-François Poulin, and Philippe Gros
Reference: 
Antimicrob. Agents Chemother, 17 May 2010
Contact email: 
philippe.gros@mcgill.ca

Malaria continues to be a major threat to global health. Artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) is the recommended treatment for clinical malaria; however, recent reports of parasite resistance to artemisinin in certain malaria-endemic areas have stressed the need for developing more efficacious ACT.

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