A trypanocidal agent is an
antiprotozoal agent
Antiprotozoal agents ( ATC code: ATC P01) is a class of pharmaceuticals used in treatment of protozoan infection.
A paraphyletic group, protozoans have little in common with each other. For example, ''Entamoeba histolytica'', a unikont eukaryoti ...
that acts upon
trypanosome parasites.
Examples include:
*
Aminoquinuride
*
benzonidazole
*
blasticidin S
*
DAPI
DAPI (pronounced 'DAPPY', /ˈdæpiː/), or 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, is a fluorescent stain that binds strongly to adenine–thymine-rich regions in DNA. It is used extensively in fluorescence microscopy. As DAPI can pass through an inta ...
*
diminazene
Diminazene ( INN; also known as diminazen) is an anti-infective medication for animals that is sold under a variety of brand names. It is effective against certain protozoa such as ''Babesia'', ''Trypanosoma'', and '' Cytauxzoon''. The drug may a ...
*
diminazene aceturate
*
eflornithine
Eflornithine, sold under the brand name Vaniqa among others, is a medication used to treat African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) and excessive hair growth on the face in women. Specifically it is used for the 2nd stage of sleeping sickness ...
*
ethidium
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isometamidium chloride
Isometamidium chloride is a triazene trypanocidal agent used in veterinary medicine.
It consists of a single Ethidium bromide like subunit linked to a fragment of the diminazene molecule.
Resistance
The Gibe River Valley in southwest Ethiopia ...
*
lonidamine
Lonidamine is a derivative of indazole-3-carboxylic acid, which for a long time, has been known to inhibit aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. It seems to enhance aerobic glycolysis in normal cells, but suppress glycolysis in cancer cells. This i ...
*
melaminylthioarsenate
*
melarsoprol
Melarsoprol is an arsenic-containing medication used for the treatment of sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis). It is specifically used for second-stage disease caused by ''Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense'' when the central nervous system i ...
*
nifurtimox
Nifurtimox, sold under the brand name Lampit, is a medication used to treat Chagas disease and sleeping sickness. For sleeping sickness it is used together with eflornithine in nifurtimox-eflornithine combination treatment. In Chagas disease it ...
*
pentamidine
*
posaconazole
Posaconazole, sold under the brand name Noxafil among others, is a triazole antifungal medication.
It was approved for medical use in the United States in September 2006, and is available as a generic medication.
Medical uses
Posaconazole is u ...
*
puromycin
Puromycin is an antibiotic protein synthesis inhibitor which causes premature chain termination during translation.
Inhibition of translation
Puromycin is an aminonucleoside antibiotic, derived from the '' Streptomyces alboniger'' bacterium ...
*
quinapyramine
*
salicylhydroxamic acid
*
suramin
Suramin is a medication used to treat African sleeping sickness and river blindness. It is the treatment of choice for sleeping sickness without central nervous system involvement. It is given by injection into a vein.
Suramin causes a fair ...
*
tetraphenylporphine sulfonate
Resistance
17
or 18
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n countries had confirmed
resistant parasite populations, and that was up to 21.
Multiply resistant populations are an increasing problem in the
Adamawa Region
The Adamawa Region (french: Région de l'Adamaoua) is a constituent region of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Centre and East regions to the south, the Northwest and West regions to the southwest, Nigeria to the west, the Central Afr ...
of
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and south east
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mal ...
.
The
Gibe River
The Gibe River (also Great Gibe River) is by far the largest tributary of the Omo River in Ethiopia and typically flowing south-southeast. The confluence of the large Gibe River at with the smaller Wabe River forms the even larger Omo River. Co ...
Valley in southwest
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
showed universal resistance (in ''
T. congolense'' isolated from
Boran
Boran (also spelled Buran, Middle Persian: ; New Persian: پوراندخت, ''Pūrāndokht'') was Sasanian queen (or ''banbishn'') of Iran from 630 to 632, with an interruption of some months. She was the daughter of king (or '' shah'') Khos ...
cattle) between July 1989 and February 1993.
This likely indicates a permanent loss of function in this area for the tested trypanocides,
Diminazene aceturate,
Isometamidium chloride
Isometamidium chloride is a triazene trypanocidal agent used in veterinary medicine.
It consists of a single Ethidium bromide like subunit linked to a fragment of the diminazene molecule.
Resistance
The Gibe River Valley in southwest Ethiopia ...
, and
Homidium chloride.
See also
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Trypanosomiasis vaccine A Trypanosomiasis vaccine is a vaccine against trypanosomiasis. No effective vaccine currently exists, but development of a vaccine is the subject of current research.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been involved in funding research conduc ...
References
Antiprotozoal agents
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