Clinical and in vitro resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to artesunate-amodiaquine in Cambodia
Artesunate-amodiaquine is a potential therapy for uncomplicated malaria in Cambodia.
Artesunate-amodiaquine is a potential therapy for uncomplicated malaria in Cambodia.
The majority of Plasmodium falciparum malaria cases in Africa are treated with the artemisinin combination therapies artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and artesunate-amodiaquine (AS-AQ), with amodiaquine being also widely used as part of seasonal malaria chemoprevention programs combined with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. While artemisinin derivatives have a short half-life, lumefantrine and amodiaquine may give rise to differing durations of post-treatment prophylaxis, an important additional benefit to patients in higher transmission areas.
High artesunate combination therapy (ACT) treatment failures of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Southeast Asia has led to triple drug strategies to extend the useful life of ACTs. In this study, we determined whether methylene blue (MB) alters the pharmacokinetics of artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and enhances the ex vivo antimalarial activity of ASAQ. In an open labelled, randomized cross-over design, a single oral dose of either ASAQ (200 mg AS/540 mg AQ) alone or with MB (325 mg MB) was administered to 15 healthy Vietnamese volunteers. Serial blood samples were collected up to 28 days after dosing.
This study was designed to establish the baseline values for clearance in patients from Sub-Saharan African countries with uncomplicated malaria treated with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs).
In the most recent study, an analysis of clinical trials of artesunate-amodiaquine, widely used among children in Africa, revealed a superior efficacy for fixed-dose combination tablets compared to loose non-fixed dose combinations.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy and tolerance of chloroquine to treat P. vivax malaria in Mauritanian patients.
The combination of MB with an artemisinin-based combination therapy has been confirmed to be effective against the gametocytes of P. falciparum.
Children with SCD and acute uncomplicated malaria (n = 60) were randomized to treatment with artesunate-amodiaquine (AA), or artemether-lumefantrine (AL). A comparison group of non-SCD children (HbAA genotype; n = 59) with uncomplicated malaria were also randomized to treatment with AA or AL.
Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is the recommended first-line therapy for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria worldwide but decreased artemisinin susceptibility, phenotypically characterized as slow parasite clearance time (PCT), has now been reported in Southeast Asia.
Artesunate-amodiaquine treatment resulted in a higher incidence of sinus bradycardia than artemether-lumefantrine treatment in children with uncomplicated malaria, but no clinically significant rhythm disturbances were induced by combining artesunate with amodiaquine.