A recent study has detected contrasting patterns of drug resistance in malaria-causing parasites taken from both humans and mosquitoes in rural Zambia. Parasites found in human blood samples showed a high prevalence for pyrimethamine-resistance, which was consistent with the class of drugs widely used to treat malaria in the region. However, parasites taken from mosquitoes themselves had very … [Read more...]
Synthetic Artemisinin May Dramatically Lower Cost of Malaria Treatments
Jay Keasling and his team have developed a synthetic form of the most commonly used malaria drug—artemisinin, which until now had to be extracted from the wormwood plant. In partnership with One World Health and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, scientists use synthetic biology to produce artemisinin from the bacteria E. coli in huge brewery like tanks."The goal is to increase the … [Read more...]
Glaxo’s RTS,S Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise
Preliminary results from the trial of a malaria vaccine show that it protected nearly half of the children who received it from bouts of serious malaria, scientists said Tuesday. The vaccine, known as RTS,S and made by GlaxoSmithKline, has been in development for more than 25 years, initially for the American military and now with most of its support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. … [Read more...]
Study Finds Malaria Vaccine Candidate, RTS,S Significantly Reduces Malaria Risk in African Infants
First results from a large-scale Phase III trial of RTS,S*, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show the malaria vaccine candidate to provide young African children with significant protection against clinical and severe malaria with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile. The results were announced today at the Malaria Forum hosted by the Bill & … [Read more...]
Malaria Global Clinical Trials Review – 2011
Research and Markets has announced the addition of GlobalData's new report "Malaria Global Clinical Trials Review, H2, 2011." The report provides elemental information and data relating to the clinical trials on Malaria. It includes an overview of the trial numbers and their recruitment status as per the site of trial conduction across the globe. The databook … [Read more...]
Mobile Phone SMS for Malaria Control
Although malaria is preventable and curable, it is claiming over 30,000 Kenyan lives annually, but with new technology these deaths could reduce drastically. The mobile phone is the latest weapon in the war against malaria, the debilitating disease that is a leading killer in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa. The aptly named SMS initiative uses the communication gadget to ensure stocks of malaria … [Read more...]
End Malaria Day
It isn’t very often that a book has the power to save a life. Yes, good books can improve lives, shape lives, even change lives. But when was the last time a book literally helped save a life? If you’re reading this page, the answer is right now. The Domino Project in conjunction with Box of Crayons is working with Malaria No More to help end malaria. The organization is giving $20 from … [Read more...]
New Malaria Vaccine Passes Safety Test
Most malaria vaccines under development work by including genetically engineered versions of just a handful of the thousands of proteins of the Plasmodium parasite. Those modified proteins are designed to trigger an immune response to Plasmodium, after it’s passed into the host’s bloodstream by the bite of an infected mosquito. In contrast, says researcher Robert A. Seder of the U.S. National … [Read more...]
Malaria Vaccine from Mosquito Saliva
One of the more promising avenues of creating a vaccine for malaria involves going inside mosquitoes' bodies — typically the source of the disease's spread — to develop the key component of the vaccine. Research published online in the journal Science today shows the barriers and future direction for that vaccine. A clinical trial of such a vaccine showed that it was safe, but that it didn't … [Read more...]
Scientists Target Mosquito-Borne Illness
Of all the disease-spreading insects in the world, the mosquito poses the greatest menace, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). As if to underscore that threat, two mosquito-borne viral diseases have begun to spread well beyond their points of origin. One is dengue fever, a potentially deadly illness, and the other is chikungunya, a debilitating and painful disease from which … [Read more...]