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.

Study reveals safety data for using antimalarials during first trimester of pregnancy

Malaria is more common and severe in pregnant women, increasing their risk of miscarriage and other adverse outcomes. The adverse consequences of malaria in pregnancy require prompt, safe, and effective treatment.

3 May 2017

New plant therapy developed at WPI cures patients with drug-resistant malaria

When the standard malaria medications failed to help 18 critically ill patients, the attending physician in a Congo clinic acted under the "compassionate use" doctrine and prescribed a not-yet-approved malaria therapy made only from the dried leaves of the Artemisia annua plant.

25 Apr 2017

Scientists grow transgenic plants to double production of artemisinin for fighting against malaria

Since the ancient times, mankind has used plants to treat diseases. An example is the plant Artemisia annua, used for over 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat intermittent fevers.

28 Mar 2017

Researchers devise new way of creating common anti-malarial medication

Researchers at Cardiff University have devised a new way of creating a drug commonly used as the first line of defence against malaria around the world.

15 Mar 2017

Scientists develop novel drug release procedure for efficient malaria treatment

Malaria infections may soon be treated much more efficiently than they are at present. Researchers at the Universities of Bayreuth and Jerusalem have developed a novel drug release procedure for this purpose.

10 Mar 2017

MIT biological engineers develop method to measure heme levels inside malaria parasite

The iron-containing molecule heme is necessary for life. Cells require heme to perform the chemical reactions that produce energy, among other critical tasks.

28 Feb 2017

Ancient Chinese medicine for malaria could potentially aid in treatment of tuberculosis

A centuries-old herbal medicine, discovered by Chinese scientists and used to effectively treat malaria, has been found to potentially aid in the treatment of tuberculosis and may slow the evolution of drug resistance.

19 Dec 2016

Monell Center receives Gates Foundation grant to support innovative global health research project

The Monell Center announced today that it has received a $345,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant supports an innovative global health research project titled, "Developing Novel Pediatric Formulation Technologies for Global Health: Human Taste Assays."

1 Dec 2016

Open-source research mechanism could lead to discovery of new, cheap medicines for malaria

Malaria is one of the leading causes of mortality in developing countries – last year killing more than 400,000 people. Researchers worldwide have found the solution for drug discovery could lie in open, “crowd-sourced” science.

16 Sep 2016

Unique open science project shows way for development of new antimalarial treatments

Malaria remains one of the world's leading causes of mortality in developing countries. Last year alone, it killed more than 400,000 people, mostly young children.

16 Sep 2016

Scientists devise new route to synthesize insecticide in 15 steps

For chemists like Sarah Reisman, professor of chemistry at Caltech, synthesizing molecules is like designing your own jigsaw puzzle. You know what the solved puzzle looks like--the molecule--and your job is to figure out the best pieces to use to put it together.

26 Aug 2016

Achilles' heel of malaria parasite could be exploited to treat deadly disease

Malaria researchers at The Australian National University have found one of the malaria parasite's best weapons against drug treatments turns out to be an Achilles' heel, which could be exploited to cure the deadly disease.

25 Jul 2016

New computer model shows how spleen filters misshapen red blood cells

Researchers, led by Carnegie Mellon University President Subra Suresh and MIT Principal Research Scientist Ming Dao, have created a new computer model that shows how tiny slits in the spleen prevent old, diseased or misshapen red blood cells from re-entering the bloodstream.

28 Jun 2016

KARMA study confirms resistance to anti-malarial drugs confined to Southeast Asia

The first global mapping of artemisinin resistance has definitively confirmed that resistance to the main drug currently used in the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria is for the moment confined to Southeast Asia and has not spread to sub-Saharan Africa.

24 Jun 2016

New and inexpensive technique could help meet global demands for malaria drug

A new and inexpensive technique for mass-producing the main ingredient in the most effective treatment for malaria, artemisinin, could help meet global demands for the drug, according to a study to be published in the journal eLife.

15 Jun 2016

Dual-acting hybrid drug could be a promising new weapon against drug-resistant malaria

A combination of artemisinin and another drug (artemisinin combination therapy, ACT) is currently the best malaria treatment recommended by the World Health Organization.

12 Apr 2016

Traditional Chinese medicinal plant produces compounds that may help to kill human cancers

New research led by Professor Cathie Martin of the John Innes Centre has revealed how a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine produces compounds which may help to treat cancer and liver diseases.

11 Apr 2016

Multiple combination therapies could prevent malaria resistance

In order to preserve first-line drugs for treating malaria, multiple combination therapies should be deployed within a population to prevent resistance from developing, according to Maciej Boni from the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, UK, and colleagues in a Policy Forum article published in this week's PLOS Medicine.

30 Mar 2016

Competition between mixed malaria parasite strains could influence drug resistance

Scientists have documented for the first time how competition among different malaria parasite strains in human hosts could influence the spread of drug resistance.

23 Mar 2016

Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine effective in treating malaria in pregnant women

Pregnant women can be protected from malaria, a major cause of prematurity, low birth weight and death in infants in Africa, with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine , an artemisinin combination therapy that is already widely used to treat malaria in adults, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and in Uganda.

10 Mar 2016