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Mechanisms of Action of Antimalarial Drugs

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Perspectives in Antiinfective Therapy

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Abstract

Multiple-drug resistance in the malignant tertian parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, has become a major global public health problem during the past three decades. Few drugs are available to prevent or treat infections with such parasites and relatively little is known about the modes of action of even such widely used compounds as chloroquine or primaquine. However, much has been learned from investigations of the methods by which the parasites develop resistance to various antimalarials. This paper reviews new data concerning the uptake of drugs, their attachment to such parasite substrates as malaria pigment and calmodulin, and possible effects on various enzymes. Recent research on new antimalarials such as artemisinin is evaluated. Caution is recommended on the use of new compounds for monotherapy because of the high risk of the development of further drug-resistant parasite strains.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Protozoology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1E 7HT, UK

    W. Peters

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G. G. Jackson H. D. Schlumberger H. J. Zeiler

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© 1989 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden

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Peters, W. (1989). Mechanisms of Action of Antimalarial Drugs. In: Jackson, G.G., Schlumberger, H.D., Zeiler, H.J. (eds) Perspectives in Antiinfective Therapy. Vieweg+Teubner Verlag, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-86064-4_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-322-86064-4_11

  • Publisher Name: Vieweg+Teubner Verlag, Wiesbaden

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-528-07979-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-322-86064-4

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