Plasmodium falciparum News and Research

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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

Malaria parasites use complement system to evade human immune response, study finds

The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum hijacks an immune system process to invade red blood cells, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine. Understanding how malaria invades the cells could lead to a more effective vaccine.

26 May 2016

Experimental vaccine protects healthy U.S. adults from malaria infection for more than one year

An experimental malaria vaccine protected a small number of healthy, malaria-naïve adults in the United States from infection for more than one year after immunization, according to results from a Phase 1 trial described in the May 9th issue of Nature Medicine.

10 May 2016

Scientists find new way to defend against deadly malarial parasite

The most dangerous malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is responsible for nearly half a million deaths annually across Africa and Southeast Asia. Of increasing concern, this parasite is now developing resistance to common antimalarial drugs.

15 Apr 2016

GHIT Fund invests in two innovative malaria eradication tools

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) announced today that it’s investing US$1,383,785 in a pair of innovative malaria eradication tools—a vaccine that could block transmission of two species of the deadly disease and a rapid field test that can reveal a malaria infection in minutes.

1 Apr 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

Whole genome sequencing of chimpanzee parasite reveals clues about human malaria

Understanding the origins of emerging diseases - as well as more established disease agents -- is critical to gauge future human infection risks and find new treatment and prevention approaches. This holds true for malaria, which kills more than 500,000 people a year. Symptoms, including severe anemia, pregnancy-associated malaria, and cerebral malaria, have been linked to the parasite's ability to cause infected red blood cells to bind to the inner lining of blood vessels.

22 Mar 2016

NIH-funded investigators develop therapeutic compound effective against malaria

An international team that includes NIH-funded researchers at Stanford University has developed a therapeutic compound that is effective in inhibiting Plasmodium falciparum, one of five species of parasite that infects people with malaria, and the strain which causes the highest number of malaria deaths.

13 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

Luminex collaborates with University of São Paulo to validate multi-analyte Zika virus assay

Luminex Corporation today announced it is collaborating with the Laboratory of Molecular Evolution & Bioinformatics, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of São Paulo, Brazil to validate a multi-analyte Zika virus assay developed by Luminex partner, GenArraytion, Inc.

26 Feb 2016

Study shows why immune system fails to develop immunity during malaria infection

Australian scientists have for the first time revealed how malaria parasites cause an inflammatory reaction that sabotages our body's ability to protect itself against the disease.

26 Dec 2015

Researchers identify 124 protein targets of artemisinin in most pathogenic malaria parasite

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has uncovered the mystery behind the potent parasite-killing effect of artemisinin, a drug that is considered to be the last line of defence against malaria. Given the emergence of artemisinin resistance, these findings could potentially lead to the design of new treatments against drug-resistant parasites.

24 Dec 2015

NUS scientists uncover mystery behind potent parasite-killing effect of artemisinin

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore has uncovered the mystery behind the potent parasite-killing effect of artemisinin, a drug that is considered to be the last line of defence against malaria. Given the emergence of artemisinin resistance, these findings could potentially lead to the design of new treatments against drug-resistant parasites.

23 Dec 2015

Larger portion of Africa at high risk for malaria transmission

A larger portion of Africa is currently at high risk for malaria transmission than previously predicted, according to a new University of Florida mapping study.

1 Dec 2015

Researchers demonstrate new screening model to identify drug targets for the most lethal strain of malaria

A University of South Florida Center for Global Health & Infectious Diseases Research team has demonstrated a new screening model to classify antimalarial drugs and to identify drug targets for the most lethal strain of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum.

12 Nov 2015

Researchers use cutting edge genomic methods to explain protective effects of malaria vaccine candidate

An international team led by researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have used cutting edge genomic methods to uncover key biological insights that help explain the protective effects of the world's most advanced malaria vaccine candidate, RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S).

22 Oct 2015

Discovery may lead to global battle against malaria

Tropical medicine experts from Tübingen have discovered malaria parasites of the Plasmodium brasilianum species in Yanomami indigenous Indians on the border between Venezuela and Brazil. These had only been found in monkeys in the past. The parasites are also described as quartan plasmodia, as they cause outbreaks of fever every four days. The infection can lead to complications and chronic sicknesses.

26 Sep 2015

Malaria death rates reduce by 60% since 2000, shows WHO-UNICEF report

Malaria death rates have plunged by 60 per cent since 2000, translating into 6.2 million lives saved, the vast majority of them children, according to a joint WHO-UNICEF report released today.

18 Sep 2015

Breakthroughs against Plasmodium falciparum pave way for latest advancement

When the highly-influential European Medicines Agency announced its recommendation to approve what could be the world's first licensed vaccine against malaria in infants and children, there was much celebrating in the research community at NYU Langone Medical Center.

4 Aug 2015

Detailed, 3D image of malaria protein could help develop new antimalarial drugs

The first three-dimensional image capturing a critical malaria 'conductor' protein could lead to the development of a new class of antimalarial drugs.

28 Jul 2015