Plasmodium falciparum News and Research

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New database of 14,000 known macrolactones could support drug discovery and research

Researchers from North Carolina State University and Collaborations Pharmaceuticals have created a free-to-use database of 14,000 known macrolactones - large molecules used in drug development - which contains information about the molecular characteristics, chemical diversity and biological activities of this structural class.

22 Apr 2020

Study looks into how malaria parasite evades the immune system

The parasite causing the most severe form of human malaria uses proteins to make red blood cells sticky, making it harder for the immune system to destroy it and leading to potentially fatal blood clots. New research at the Crick has identified how the parasite may control this process.

13 Apr 2020

Triple therapies effective and safe in malaria

A new study describing the outcome of a clinical trial of two malaria treatment protocols involving the use of triple therapies based on artemisinin reports their high efficacy and low adverse effects.

12 Mar 2020

Novel compounds show promise as potent new treatment for malaria

A novel class of antimalarial compounds that can effectively kill malaria parasites has been developed by Australian and US researchers.

4 Mar 2020

How malaria evades the body’s immune response

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. In 2018, there were over 200 million cases of malaria worldwide. Now, a team of researchers found evidence that the malaria parasite can detect a molecule released by approaching immune cells, using it to protect itself and evade the attack by the body’s immune system.

19 Feb 2020

Study identifies potential drug target and way to alleviate cerebral malaria

Scientists have identified a key molecule involved in the development of cerebral malaria, a deadly form of the tropical disease. The study identifies a potential drug target and way forward toward alleviating this condition for which few targeted treatments are available.

9 Feb 2020

An old plant virus inspires the design of novel second-generation malaria vaccine

Scientists from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have demonstrated that a novel, second-generation malaria vaccine candidate based on the tobacco mosaic virus may offer protection against Plasmodium falciparum malaria in the upcoming issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Jan 2020

Clinical trial to test safety, effectiveness of mAb against malaria in healthy volunteers

A Phase 1 clinical trial testing the safety and effectiveness of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against malaria has begun enrolling healthy adult volunteers at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The trial, sponsored by NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is the first to test mAb CIS43LS in humans. It aims to enroll up to 73 volunteers aged 18 through 50 years old who have never had malaria.

27 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

Australian researchers find new drug target for preventing the spread of malaria

Australian researchers have found a new drug target for stopping the spread of malaria, after successfully blocking the world's deadliest malaria parasite - Plasmodium falciparum - from completing the 'transmission stage' of its lifecycle.

17 Dec 2019

Researchers block malaria parasite’s ability to spread infection

Researchers have discovered a new way to prevent the deadliest malaria parasite from spreading infection.

17 Dec 2019

Intellegens and Optibrium announce success in the Open Source Malaria global initiative

Intellegens, an artificial intelligence start-up, and, Optibrium, leading providers of software and services for drug discovery, today announced joint success in the Open Source Malaria global initiative aimed at identifying the best predictive models for antimalarial compounds.

6 Dec 2019

Discovery enables strategies to be developed for preventing malaria transmission

The bacteria that form the gut microbiota influence important processes of the human body, such as digestion, nutrient absorption, and defense against pathogens. The same type of relationship is present in most animals, including in the Anhopheles darlingi mosquito, the main vector of malaria in Brazil.

22 Nov 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

Autoimmune attack on uninfected red blood cells may cause anemia in malaria patients

An autoimmune attack on uninfected red blood cells likely contributes to anaemia - a shortage of red blood cells - in people with malaria, according to a new study published in eLife.

12 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

Risky strategy allows malaria parasite to quickly respond to unpredictable changes

The parasite that causes malaria expresses genes that code for the proteins it will need in later life stages, using two separate schemes to prevent these proteins from actually being made until they are needed, according to new research.

31 Oct 2019

Scientists discover how malaria switched host from African gorillas to humans

Researchers have revealed the series of events that probably led to the world’s deadliest form of malaria being able to jump from ancient great apes to humans.

16 Oct 2019

New way to prevent malaria bugs from breeding

A new international collaboration reports that the compound called TCMDC-135051 is capable of preventing the synthesis of a protein that is required for growth in Plasmodium falciparum, one of the species of the Plasmodium parasite that causes malaria. The study, reported in the journal Science, could lead to the development of a new antimalarial drug.

8 Oct 2019

New model system uses red blood cells to study malaria invasion

Researchers at the University of Bristol and Imperial College London have established a new model system that uses red blood cells grown in the laboratory to study how malaria parasites invade red blood cells.

29 Aug 2019