Bhubaneswar: In a significant development, scientists at the Institute of Life Sciences, (ILS) Bhubaneswar have claimed to have developed an anti-malarial treatment which can prevent cerebral and severe malaria mortality. "Dr. Arun Nagraj and his team have discovered therapeutic interventions which can prevent cerebral and severe malaria mortality", the institute said in a statement.
"This would be a milestone achievement for the malaria-prone areas in the state and for the society as a whole", the spokesperson said. An increase in mortality rate due to cerebral and severe malaria occurs despite treating the patients with WHO-recommended Artemisinin (A group of drugs used to treat Malaria) based Combination Therapies (ACTs). The last resort is intravenous administration of antimalarials such as Artemisinin or Quinine, along with supportive therapies.
According to the study, the parasites which lack the ability to make heme (a component essential to produce haemoglobin), generate less hemozoin, which is formed by blood-feeding parasites after the digestion of blood. A lack of hemozoin does not cause cerebral and severe malaria in animal models.
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Describing the effects of the anti-malarial drug, the spokesperson said "Heme is required for various cellular functions and malaria parasite makes its own heme. The blood-stage parasites causing disease can also acquire heme from human haemoglobin by degrading it in a specialized organelle called a 'food vacuole'." Parasite heme is important for food vacuole function and hemozoin formation. The scientists at ILS have discovered a novel intervention for the parasitic heme, to moderate disease severity.
Further, the study showed that targeting parasite heme with Griseofulvin, an FDA approved antifungal drug, prevents cerebral and severe malaria in mice. Griseofulvin is a less expensive and safe drug that is widely used to treat fungal infections in children and adults. Therefore, repurposing 'Griseofulvin' as an adjunct drug for malaria along with the existing frontline ACTs would help to prevent malaria mortality. This study was published in Nature Communications, and Indian and international patents have been filed. ILS is now planning to perform clinical trials in malaria-infected humans.
Malaria remains a major global health concern causing 247 million infections and 619,000 deaths in 2021. The most vulnerable populations include children under five years of age and pregnant women. In spite of the intense global efforts to contain malaria, there is no significant reduction in the incidence since 2015, rather, there is a considerable increase. This is further worsened by the emergence of drug resistance in parasites and insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. Falciparum malaria is the deadliest one responsible for more than 90% of infections and deaths.
