Brenda Yufeh
29 April 2008
interview
Professor Umberto D'Alessandro of the Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium.
How effective is the current combined therapy for the treatment of malaria?
The Artesuntae-Amodiaquine and Arthemether-Lumefantrine Therapy (ACT) contains very important drugs. The combination is extremely effective. For the time being, there is no resistance to the ACT base treatment. All studies have shown that the combination is effective more than 95 per cent. It is very unlikely for somebody to show resistance to the combination because the drugs stay much longer in the blood system and can kill remaining parasites which could possibly cause resistance to treatment. In terms of availability, the drugs are in the global market. But in several African countries there are several problems in terms of logistics.
But some people present resistance to the current malaria treatment.
There are several possibilities. It could be that these people are parasite-resistant to the treatment. Some people may think that when they have a fever, it means that they have malaria; meanwhile the causes of fever are many. If somebody does not have malaria as the cause of his fever, taking the malaria treatment will not lead to positive results. So far, in Africa there has been no description of resistance to the combined therapy for the treatment of malaria.
Why carry out research for a new anti-malarial drug then?
No drug is immune to resistance. Resistance for the Artesuntae-Amodiaquine and Arthemether-Lumefantrine Therapy can occur anytime although it is going to take a longer time from now. Thus, it is important to promote fundamental research to discover new molecules so that at the time there is a possible emerging resistance one already has an alternative treatment. The Read-Up research project which means "Redox Anti-malarial Drug Discovery" is just at its beginning.
How is the Read-Up project coming on?
I am testing the drug. In any case the research of a new anti-malarial drug will involve screening the molecule, testing in vitro on the parasite and then testing animals before using the drugs on humans. To follow the track of bringing a possible new treatment in the market will take many years of work. That is why at the moment we are investing more on fundamental research.
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