Artemisinin News and Research

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Artemisinin is a drug used to treat multi-drug resistant strains of falciparum malaria. The compound (a sesquiterpene lactone) is isolated from the plant Artemisia annua. Not all plants of this species contain artemisinin.

Researchers use single cell genome sequencing to study malaria transmission

New technology employing single cell genome sequencing of the parasite that causes malaria has yielded some surprising results and helps pave the way for possible new intervention strategies for this deadly infectious disease, according to Texas Biomedical Research Institute Assistant Professor Ian Cheeseman, Ph.D. Dr. Cheeseman was Principal Investigator of a three-year study published in the January 2020 edition of Cell Host & Microbe, a high-impact peer-reviewed publication.

8 Jan 2020

Scientists identify molecules capable of inhibiting DNA methylation, effectively killing malaria parasites

Parasites in the genus Plasmodium, which cause malaria, are transmitted to humans through bites from infected mosquitoes.

31 Dec 2019

Researchers study molecular elements effective in fighting malaria

The scientists research a building block of organic molecules needed for medical chemistry development. Spirocycles in nature is an element, that chemists are crazy about. This element presents in artemisinin, the most effective group of drugs against malaria.

21 Dec 2019

Certain traditional soup broths possess antimalarial properties

Researchers have found that some soups have antimalarial properties and can interrupt the life cycle of a malarial parasite.

19 Nov 2019

Malaria parasite with Quinoline drug investigated in-vivo

Researchers from Israel, in collaboration with others looked at the effects of the malaria plasmodium on red blood cells in vivo in presence of a drug, to understand the workings of the pathogen in its disease causing ability and also lay foundation for development of effective treatment for the deadly disease.

31 Oct 2019

Malarial treatment from Antarctic sea sponge

Malaria, which ravages hot tropical areas, could be treated effectively using a protein extracted from an Antarctic sponge.

12 Sep 2019

Study sheds light on emergence and spread of drug-resistant malaria parasites in Africa

In the first continent-wide genomic study of malaria parasites in Africa, scientists have uncovered the genetic features of Plasmodium falciparum parasites that inhabit different regions of the continent, including the genetic factors that confer resistance to anti-malarial drugs.

23 Aug 2019

Common antimalarial treatment has less effect in children with severe malnutrition

Researchers have found that severe malnutrition is associated with lower exposure to the antimalarial drug lumefantrine in children treated with artemether-lumefantrine, the most common treatment, for uncomplicated falciparum malaria.

24 Jul 2019

Engineers crack the code to quickly diagnose anti-malarial drug resistance

One of the keys to quickly diagnosing anti-malarial drug resistance -- potentially saving lives -- lies in testing whole blood instead of extracting DNA, eliminating processing steps that can take hours or days.

13 Jun 2019

New assay uses a drop of blood to detect patients' resistance to antimalarial drugs

Antimalarial drugs appear to follow a typical pattern, with early effectiveness eventually limited by the emergence of drug resistance.

13 Jun 2019

Malaria drug may help those with hereditary hearing loss finds study

Researchers have found that anti-malarial drug artemisinin could help patients with genetic or hereditary hearing loss. The study results were published in the latest issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study was titled, “Unconventional secretory pathway activation restores hair cell mechanotransduction in an USH3A model.”

12 Jun 2019

Developing biosecurity tool to detect engineered microorganisms based on DNA signatures

If a genetically or synthetically engineered organism is released into the environment, how will we know?

22 May 2019

United Nations sounds alarm bell on drug-resistant infections

According to a new report from a United Nations Committee, antibiotic resistance levels are at an all time high and are the reason behind common infections becoming difficult to treat.

30 Apr 2019

Artemisinins are still strongest weapon against malaria, say experts

The powerful medicines known as artemisinins have plenty of mileage in them in the global fight against malaria, and concern about partial resistance has been overstated.

26 Apr 2019

Discovery of potent compound in native California shrub may lead to treatment for Alzheimer's

The medicinal powers of aspirin, digitalis, and the anti-malarial artemisinin all come from plants. A Salk Institute discovery of a potent neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory chemical in a native California shrub may lead to a treatment for Alzheimer's disease based on a compound found in nature.

21 Feb 2019

New insight into anti-malaria drug

Artemisinin is derived from the leaves and flowers of the annual mugwort (Artemisia annua) and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. The effectiveness was investigated by the Chinese researcher Tu Youyou.

29 Jan 2019

Baculovirus virion completely eliminates liver-stage parasites in mouse model

Currently, few antimalarial treatments exist that effectively kill liver-stage malaria parasites, which can lay dormant for months or years as in the case of Plasmodium vivax. Researchers from Kanazawa University have successfully demonstrated that administration of a baculovirus virion completely eliminates liver-stage parasites in a mouse model via BV-induced fast-acting innate immunity.

13 Dec 2018