(Photo : user 41330 on Pixabay)
Even though established parasites inside the red blood cells are extinct, the fatality rate is due to ongoing cyto-adhesion to infected erythrocytes.
New avenues are desperately needed as malaria vaccines have shown to be less than moderately successful and to treat these serious cases of P. falciparum malaria.
The latest figures suggest that more than 500 million malaria cases and more than 400,000 deaths are recorded annually worldwide. The secret to dramatically enhancing survival rates could be anti-adhesion medications.
Medical Study
A first-of-its-kind study by Florida Atlantic University s Schmidt College of Medicine in conjunction with FAU s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science and the Division of Chemical Sciences, National Institute of Standards and Technology, United States Department of Commerce, indicates that these conotoxins could theoretically cure malaria using venom from the Conus nux, a species of sea snail.
Cone snail venom could potentially treat severe forms of malaria
Plasmodium falciparum may be deadly even after treatment with current parasite-killing drugs. This is due to persistent cyto-adhesion of infected erythrocytes even though existing parasites within the red blood cells are dead.
As vaccines for malaria have proved less than moderately effective, and to treat these severe cases of
P. falciparum malaria, new avenues are urgently needed. Latest estimates indicate that more than 500 million cases of malaria and more than 400,000 deaths are reported worldwide each year
. Anti-adhesion drugs may hold the key to significantly improving survival rates.
Using venom from the
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