Approximately one million children die from malaria each year. A recently approved artemisinin-based tablet, Coartem (co-artemether), comprising artemether 120 mg plus lumefantrine 20 mg, given in four doses, provides effective antimalarial treatment for children in many sub-Saharan countries. However, this regimen is considered insufficient for non-immune infants and in areas where multidrug-r...

To determine the optimum dose of artemisinin-piperaquine combination therapies for acute uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, we examined 7 candidate regimens in 411 patients admitted to the Bangkok Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The studies were performed from May 2005 to October 2005 and November 2005 to June 2006. We compared 3-day courses of artesunate-mefloquine, artemether-lumefa...

Increasing antimalarial drug-resistance is an important problem in Thailand. The results of monitoring the antimalarial efficacy are used in decision-making about using antimalarials to treat uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Thailand. In 2002, 552 patients with uncomplicated malaria were treated according to the Thai National Drug Policy, with mefloquine 25 mg/kg plus artesunate 12 mg/kg and...

Measuring baseline levels of adherence and identifying risk factors for non-adherence are important steps before the introduction of new antimalarials. In Mbarara in southwestern Uganda, we assessed adherence to artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem) in its latest World Health Organization blister formulation. Patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria were prescribed artemether-lumef...

The choice of appropriate artemisin-based combination therapy depends on several factors (cost, efficacy, safety, reinfection rate, and simplicity of administration). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that artesunate-mefloquine (Artequin) is as efficacious as artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem) in treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The study was carried out from Augus...

Malaria control is compromised by the development and spread of Plasmodium falciparum resistance to antimalarial drugs, which has caused an increase in malaria related morbidity and mortality. Artemisinin based combination therapy (ACT) has been implemented in almost all malaria endemic areas in an attempt to suppress drug resistance. The ACT artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem®; Novartis) is one ...

Background: Malaria remains the world’s most devastating human parasitic infection. Our goal was to assess the capacity of increasing concentrations of five antimalarial drugs (FansidarTM, HalfanTM, Quinine, CoartemTM and Chloroquine phosphate) to elicit the generation of methemoglobin in three human erythrocyte genotypes (Hb AA, Hb AS and Hb SS). Materials and Methods: Spectrophotometric metho...

Background: The capacity of human HbAA erythrocytes of non-malarious blood to withstand osmotic stress in the presence of five antimalarial drugs, Chloroquine phosphate, Quinine, FansidarTM, CoartemTM and HalfanTM was studied in vitro. Materials and Methods: Aqueous solutions of four increasing concentrations of the drugs used in this investigation were in the order: 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6% and 0.8% (...