South African Scientists Claim Breakthrough Drug Cures All Strains of Malaria - Polidicks

[QUOTE]Malaria is the scourge of tropical nations, crippling its victims with symptoms like debilitating fever, convulsions and nausea, and killing half a million people annually. Now researchers in South Africa say they may have a one-size-fits-all solution, in the form of a new drug that could work with just one dose. The drug is a synthetic molecule in a class of compounds known as aminopyridines, which are precursors to many drugs for neurological disorders. Scientists at Australia’s Griffith University were screening more than 6 million drug compounds and suggested aminopyridine for further study. Then a team of scientists led by Kelly Chibale at the University of Cape Town tested several of these compounds, settling on a suitable molecule that will now be tested further. Most cases of malaria in Africa are caused by a parasite called Plasmodium falciparum, which lives in the salivary glands of female mosquitoes and is transferred into the human bloodstream when the bug bites. This new drug killed the parasites instantly, according to reports from Cape Town media and the UCT — even those that are resistant to other anti-malarial drugs. Animal tests have not shown any negative side effects. Clinical trials on humans are set to start in 2013, South African government officials announced this week. Efforts to curb malaria have extended all the way to mosquito eradication and genetic modification, yet the search for a cure-all has proved elusive. Malaria treatment involves a course of drugs, but in some cases the parasites have evolved to resist them. South African officials trumpeted this new drug as a potential lifesaver for hundreds of thousands of people — and found on their own soil. “This is the first ever clinical molecule that’s been discovered out of Africa, by Africans, from a modern pharmaceutical industry drug discovery program,” Chibale was quoted saying. Much more research remains to be done, and it could be at least seven years before any pill derived from this new compound is distributed throughout malaria-afflicted regions. But still, if this works, it could be an enormous breakthrough in a field that has haunted humanity — and the efforts of scientists to thwart it — for centuries.[/quote] Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-08/south-african-scientists-claim-breakthrough-drug-cures-all-strains-malaria[/url]

Good, but now remains the second question. Will it be cheap enough to be widely available? if not, then this discovery means very little for african nations.

OH MY GOD THAT'S AWESOOOOME!

Doubt it's going to be cheap

Too bad the people suffering from it in Africa, 95% of them, I'm sure, can't afford it.

[QUOTE=Zoran;37475426]Too bad the people suffering from it in Africa, 95% of them, I'm sure, can't afford it.[/QUOTE] And why might that be?

far cry 2 just got a lot less interesting

Could save millions of lives.

[QUOTE=ButtsexV3;37475920]far cry 2 just got a lot less interesting[/QUOTE] Like it was before

Waiting for some one to whine that evil pharmaceutical companies are going to block it.

[QUOTE=ButtsexV3;37475920]far cry 2 just got a lot less interesting[/QUOTE] you still have deadly water [video=youtube;EVGkqrN52ng]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVGkqrN52ng[/video]

[QUOTE=ButtsexV3;37475920]far cry 2 just got a lot less interesting[/QUOTE] more like a lot less annoying

[QUOTE=Zoran;37475426]Too bad the people suffering from it in Africa, 95% of them, I'm sure, can't afford it.[/QUOTE] Maybe the WHO will use this as an opportunity to initiate a massive eradication program.

[QUOTE=Lambeth;37476409]you still have deadly water [video=youtube;EVGkqrN52ng]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVGkqrN52ng[/video][/QUOTE] Holy fuck :v: the water that puts rebar in your leg and breaks your arms

[QUOTE=Zoran;37475426]Too bad the people suffering from it in Africa, 95% of them, I'm sure, can't afford it.[/QUOTE]If they succeed in making it mass-producable at a not too significant cost, charities and the WHO might distribute it themselves, while the better-off African nations implement it on their own dime. At the very least, there's the economic benefits of not losing innumerable workers to malaria.

[QUOTE=Lambeth;37476409]you still have deadly water[/QUOTE] Almost the greatest Far Cry 2 video I've seen [video=youtube;_HmDUsDykdM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HmDUsDykdM[/video] If this is too far off topic I apologize.

i hope africa one day becomes a place that i'd visit

[QUOTE=ThePinkPanzer;37476367]Waiting for some one to whine that evil pharmaceutical companies are going to block it.[/QUOTE] I've always wondered - is there [I]any[/I] documented case of this actually happening?

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;37479341]If they succeed in making it mass-producable at a not too significant cost, charities and the WHO might distribute it themselves, while the better-off African nations implement it on their own dime. At the very least, there's the economic benefits of not losing innumerable workers to malaria.[/QUOTE] Is the WHO a charity? I though you where talking about them doing a charity gig to raise funds for it.

[QUOTE=Elfy;37479498]Is the WHO a charity? I though you where talking about them doing a charity gig to raise funds for it.[/QUOTE]Not necessarily. Fulfils similar functions and gets some of it's funding via donations, but it's one of the UN's agencies; so most of it's financing comes from UN member states.

[QUOTE=Elecbullet;37476929]Maybe the WHO will use this as an opportunity to initiate a massive eradication program.[/QUOTE] Too bad malaria infects other animals.

[QUOTE=Gekkosan;37475661]And why might that be?[/QUOTE] It's called Poverty. Terrible, terrible thing. You should look it up for more information.

[QUOTE=Jabberwocky;37489061]Too bad malaria infects other animals.[/QUOTE] If we can wipe it out from infecting humans, that's almost completely irrelevant.

It would be nice if this worked. We almost wiped out malaria with DDT, but the bastard mosquitoes became resilient to it and it started to cause some health problems.

Wait til big pharmas buy this and never heard of it again. Just kidding..

I don't understand why people thing "big pharms" are going to keep things like this quiet. Surely the money gained from mass producing the drug would gain them more money than what few grants they get researching it?

And then we watch this disappear in a month.

[QUOTE=Lambeth;37476409]you still have deadly water [video=youtube;EVGkqrN52ng]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVGkqrN52ng[/video][/QUOTE] Those crunching sounds are fucking horrible.

[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;37489551]If we can wipe it out from infecting humans, that's almost completely irrelevant.[/QUOTE] Unless you wipe it out systemically and quickly, mutations will arise and resistance will grow. It's a bit optimistic to hope to wipe out malaria with a small molecule drug when it'll be present in a slew of animals.