Toxins from Animal Venoms as a Potential Source of Antimalarials: A Comprehensive Review.

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium spp. and it is mainly transmitted to humans by female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. Malaria is an important global public health problem due to its high rates of morbidity and mortality. At present, drug therapies and vector control with insecticides are respectively the most commonly used methods for the treatment and control of malaria. However, several studies have shown the resistance of Plasmodium to drugs that are recommended for the treatment of malaria. In view of this, it is necessary to carry out studies to discover new antimalarial molecules as lead compounds for the development of new medicines. In this sense, in the last few decades, animal venoms have attracted attention as a potential source for new antimalarial molecules. Therefore, the aim of this review was to summarize animal venom toxins with antimalarial activity found in the literature. From this research, 50 isolated substances, 4 venom fractions and 7 venom extracts from animals such as anurans, spiders, scorpions, snakes, and bees were identified. These toxins act as inhibitors at different key points in the biological cycle of Plasmodium and may be important in the context of the resistance of Plasmodium to currently available antimalarial drugs.

Intralesional amphotericin B in a cat with refractory localised sporotrichosis.

The present report concerns a case of sporotrichosis in a 3-year-old male crossbred cat. After 9 months of oral itraconazole (20mg/kg) therapy, all skin lesions had resolved with the exception of a single nodular lesion located on the bridge of the nose. Therefore, a combined therapy that included intralesional (IL) amphotericin B (1mg/kg) was started. The lesion resolved completely after three weekly administrations of IL amphotericin B, given in concert with oral itraconazole. The cat remains well 1 year after discontinuing therapy, with no signs of recurrence.