Efficacy and safety of single-dose artesunate plus sulfalene/pyrimethamine combined with praziquantel for the treatment of children with Schistosoma mansoni or Schistosoma haematobium in western Kenya: a randomised, open-label controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Reliance on praziquantel for the treatment and control of schistosomiasis is likely to facilitate the emergence of drug resistance. Combination therapy targeting adult and juvenile schistosome worms is urgently needed to improve praziquantel efficacy and delay the potential development of drug resistance. We assessed the efficacy and safety of single-dose praziquantel combined with single-dose artesunate plus sulfalene-pyrimethamine in the treatment of Kenyan children with schistosomiasis. METHODS: This was an open-label, randomised clinical trial involving 426 school-aged children (7-15 years old) diagnosed with Schistosoma mansoni (by Kato-Katz) or S. haematobium (by urine filtration). They were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive a single dose of praziquantel (40 mg/kg), a single dose of artesunate plus sulfalene-pyrimethamine (12 mg/kg artesunate) or combination therapy using a single dose of praziquantel (40 mg/kg) combined with a single dose of artesunate plus sulfalene-pyrimethamine (12 mg/kg artesunate). The primary outcome was cure and egg reduction rates at 6 weeks post-treatment in the available case population. Adverse events were assessed within 3 h after treatment. RESULTS: Of the 426 children enrolled, 135 received praziquantel, 150 received artesunate plus sulfalene-pyrimethamine, and 141 received combination therapy. Outcome data were available for 348 (81.7%) children. For S. mansoni-infected children (n = 335), the cure rates were 75.6%, 60.7%, and 77.8%, and the egg reduction rates were 80.1%, 85.0%, and 88.4% for praziquantel, artesunate plus sulfalene-pyrimethamine, and combination therapy, respectively. For S. haematobium-infected children (n = 145), the corresponding cure rates were 81.4%, 71.1%, and 82.2%, and the egg reduction rates were 95.6%, 97.1%, and 97.7%, respectively. Seventy-one (16.7%) children reported mild-intensity adverse events. The drugs were well tolerated and no serious adverse events were reported. CONCLUSIONS: A single oral dose of praziquantel combined with artesunate plus sulfalene-pyrimethamine cured a high proportion of children with S. haematobium but did not significantly improve the treatment efficacy for either urinary or intestinal schistosomiasis. Sequential administration of praziquantel and artesunate plus sulfalene-pyrimethamine may enhance the efficacy and safety outcomes.

3D printing of multi-unit gastro-retentive tablets for the pulsatile release of artesunate.

Pulsatile drug delivery is hardly achieved by conventional gastro-retentive dosage forms. Artesunate as a typical anti-malaria medicine needs oral pulsatile release. Here, artesunate-loaded pulsatile-release multi-unit gastro-retentive tablets (APGTs) were prepared with a semi-solid extrusion three-dimensional (3D) printing method. An APGT was composed of three units: artesunate-loaded immediate and delayed release units and a block unit. The matrix of the immediate/delayed release units consisted of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) K30 and croscarmellose sodium, which improved the rapid release of artesunate when contacting water. The block unit consisted of octadecanol, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose K15M, PVP K30, and poloxamer F68. APGTs showed multi-phase release in simulated gastric liquids (SGLs). The first immediate release phase continued for 1 h followed by a long block phase for 7 h. The second rapid release phase was initiated when the eroded holes in the block unit extended to the inner delayed release unit, and this phase continued for about 14 h. Low-density APGTs could ensure their long-term floating in the stomach. Oral APGTs remained in the rabbit stomach for about 20 h. 3D printing provides a new strategy for the preparation of oral pulsatile-release tablets.

Exploring pectin-casein micelles as novel carriers for oral drug delivery of artesunate in the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.

The oral route of administration is considered the optimal choice for treating chronic diseases due to its convenience and non-invasiveness, which can help prevent physical and mental harm to patients undergoing long-term treatment. However, challenges such as safety, gastrointestinal stability, and bioavailability of oral drugs often limit their effectiveness. Natural biomacromolecule micelles, known for their safety, stability, biocompatibility, and diverse functions, have emerged as promising carriers for oral treatment of chronic diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) with fat-soluble drugs. This study introduces an innovative approach by developing an oral delivery system using chemically synthesized natural biomacromolecules to load artesunate for treating SLE. By synthesizing amphiphilic polymer micelles from pectin and casein through a carbodiimide reaction, a more stable structure is achieved. The hydrophobic core of these micelles encapsulates artesunate, resulting in the formation of an oral delivery system (PC-AS) with several advantages, including high drug loading and encapsulation efficiency, small particle size, negative potential, strong stability in the gastrointestinal tract, low toxicity and side effects, strong adhesion in the small intestine, and high bioavailability. These advantages facilitate efficient absorption of artesunate in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to improved bioavailability and effective alleviation of SLE-like symptoms in MRL/lpr mice. By utilizing chemically synthesized natural macromolecular micelles for delivering artesunate in the treatment of SLE, this study overcomes the oral barriers associated with the original drug and presents a novel solution for the long-term oral treatment of chronic diseases.

Artesunate-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles resist esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by inducing Ferroptosis through inhibiting the AKT/mTOR signaling.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a severe malignancy with high incidence and mortality rate in China, while the application of standard chemotherapeutic drugs for ESCC meets the barriers of high toxicity and multiple drug resistance (MDR). In recent years, the anticancer effects of artesunate (ART), a Chinese medicine monomer have gained extensive attentions due to its characteristics of low toxicity, high potency, and reversal of MDR. In this study, we develop the artesunate-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNART) to overcome the poor water solubility and bioavailability of ART, further improving the efficiency of ART on ESCC treatment. Especially mentioned, SLNART is shown to present marked inhibitory effects on ESCC development based on the induction of ferroptosis by two pathways included upregulating TFR to increase Fe2+ ions and inhibiting the AKT/mTOR signaling to downregulate GPX4. Collectively, this study is the first to pave a promising approach for ESCC therapy based on a strategy of developing SLNART to induce ferroptosis by mediating Fe2+ ions and AKT/mTOR signaling.

Sinigrin in combination with artesunate provides protection against lethal murine malaria via falcipain-3 inhibition and immune modulation.

Plant-derived antimalarials are indispensable for malaria treatment and a platform for new drugs. The present study explores sinigrin, for malaria using in vitro, in silico and in vivo strategies and the immune response generated after administration. The compound exhibited promising activity against chloroquine (CQ)-resistant (RKL-9) IC50 5.14 µg/mL and CQ-sensitive (3D7) IC50 5.47 µg/mL strains of P. falciparum and was safe in both in vitro (CC50 > 640 µg/mL) and in vivo (LD50 > 2 g/kg) toxicity studies. In addition, virtual screening showed hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic and van der Waals interactions with amino acid residues of 3BPM (falcipain-3). In vivo studies revealed promising antimalarial activity of sinigrin (200 mg/kg) with 87.44% chemo-suppression on day 5 and significantly (p < 0.0001) enhanced the mean survival time (21 ± 4.74 days) in contrast to the infected control (5.4 ± 1.14 days). In combination therapy, sinigrin (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg) augmented the efficacy of artesunate (AS 50 mg/kg) with 100% survival and no recrudescence. These observations are further corresponded and supported by DLC, NO production, cytokine analysis, biochemical and histopathological studies. Treatment with the combination resulted in a regulated interplay of immune cells and cytokines aiding in parasite clearance in addition to its specific inhibitory activity. We report the antimalarial activity of sinigrin first time with best D-score against falcipain-3. These findings highlight sinigrin as a HIT molecule, which may potentially be used in drug and vaccine development approaches.

Dimeric Artesunate-Phosphatidylcholine-Based Liposomes for Irinotecan Delivery as a Combination Therapy Approach.

In this work, dimeric artesunate-phosphatidylcholine conjugate (dARTPC)-based liposomes encapsulated with irinotecan (Ir) were developed for anticancer combination therapy. First, dARTPC featured with unique amphipathic properties formed liposomes by classical thin-film methods. After that, Ir was encapsulated into dARTPC-based liposomes (Ir/dARTPC-LP) by the triethylammonium sucrose octasulfate gradient method. Physicochemical characterization indicated that Ir/dARTPC-LP had a mean size of around 140 nm and a negative ζ potential of approximately -30 mV. Most noticeably, liposomes displayed an encapsulation efficiency of greater than 98% with a controllable drug loading of 4-22%. The in vitro release of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) and Ir from Ir/dARTPC-LP was investigated by dialysis in different media. It was found that effective release of both DHA (65.42%) and Ir (77.28%) in a weakly acidic medium (pH 5.0) after 48 h was achieved in comparison to very slow release under a neutral environment (DHA 9.90% and Ir 8.72%), indicating the controllable release of both drugs. Confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed the improved cellular internalization of Ir/dARTPC-LP. The cytotoxicity of Ir/dARTPC-LP was evaluated in the MCF-7, A549, and HepG2 cell lines. The results showed that Ir/dARTPC-LP had significant synergistic efficacy in the loss of cell growth. In vivo anticancer evaluation was performed using a 4T1 xenograft tumor model. Ir/dARTPC-LP had a high tumor inhibition rate of 62.7% without significant toxicity in comparison with the injection of Ir solution. Taken together, dARTPC encapsulated with Ir has great potential for anticancer combination therapy.

Systematic analysis of direct antiglobulin test results in post-artesunate delayed haemolysis.

BACKGROUND: Post-artesunate delayed haemolysis (PADH) is common after severe malaria episodes. PADH is related to the "pitting" phenomenon and the synchronous delayed clearance of once-infected erythrocytes, initially spared during treatment. However, direct antiglobulin test (DAT) positivity has been reported in several PADH cases, suggesting a contribution of immune-mediated erythrocyte clearance. The aim of the present study was to compare clinical features of cases presenting a positive or negative DAT. METHODS: Articles reporting clinical data of patients diagnosed with PADH, for whom DAT had been performed, were collected from PubMed database. Data retrieved from single patients were extracted and univariate analysis was performed in order to identify features potentially related to DAT results and steroids use. RESULTS: Twenty-two studies reporting 39 PADH cases were included: median baseline parasitaemia was 20.8% (IQR: 11.2-30) and DAT was positive in 17 cases (45.5%). Compared to DAT-negative individuals, DAT-positive patients were older (49.5 vs 31; p = 0.01), had a higher baseline parasitaemia (27% vs 17%; p = 0.03) and were more commonly treated with systemic steroids (11 vs 3 patients, p = 0.002). Depth and kinetics of delayed anaemia were not associated with DAT positivity. CONCLUSIONS: In this case series, almost half of the patients affected by PADH had a positive DAT. An obvious difference between the clinical courses of patients presenting with a positive or negative DAT was lacking. This observation suggests that DAT result may not be indicative of a pathogenic role of anti-erythrocytes antibodies in patients affected by PADH, but it may be rather a marker of immune activation.

Artesunate inhibits melanoma progression in vitro via suppressing STAT3 signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Melanoma is a life-threatening cancer characterized with a potentially metastatic tumor of melanocytic origin. Improved methods or novel therapies are urgently needed to eliminate the development of metastases. Artesunate is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin used for trarment of malaria and cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-cancer effect of artesunate and the role on STAT3 signaling in A375 human melanoma cell line. METHODS: Melanoma cells were treated with artesunate at concentrations of 0-5 µM for 24 and 48 h. The inhibition of cell viability, colony formation, migration, invasion, adhesion, percentage of apoptotic cells, and expressions of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (STAT3) and related proteins were examined. RESULTS: Artesunate inhibited cellular proliferation of cancer cells by induction of apoptosis at sub-toxic doses. Cells treated with artesunate showed an inhibition in adhesion to extracellular matrix substrate matrigel and type IV collagen. Artesunate treatment showed a decreased cellular migration, invasion, and colony formation in melanoma cells. Artesunate also inhibited STAT3 and Src activations and STAT3 related protein expressions; such as metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2), MMP-9, Mcl-1, Bxl-xL, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and Twist. Moreover, overexpression of constitutively active STAT3 in A375 cells attenuated the anti-proliferative, apoptotic and anti-invasive effects of artesunate. CONCLUSION: The results obtained from this study demonstrated that the anticancer activity of artesunate occurred via STAT3 pathway and its target proteins. Therefore, it can be suggested that artesunate may be an important candidate molecule in the treatment of melanoma.

Safety assessment of MEFAS: an innovative hybrid salt of mefloquine and artesunate for malaria treatment.

Malaria is a global public health problem that causes approximately 445 000 deaths annually worldwide, especially in underdeveloped countries. Because of the high prevalence and mortality of the disease, new and less toxic therapeutic agents need to be developed, such as MEFAS, a low-cost hybrid salt that consists of artesunate and mefloquine. However, the efficacy of MEFAS has been systematically demonstrated, its safety requires further investigation. This study investigated the acute toxicity of MEFAS and its precursors, artesunate, and mefloquine. A total of 42 female Swiss mice were divided into seven groups (n = 6/group) that were treated orally by gavage with vehicle (filtered water, negative control), MEFAS (50, 500, and 1000 mg/kg), and 1:1 concentrations of artesunate + mefloquine (50, 500, and 1000 mg/kg). Clinical signs of toxicity were observed for 14 d after treatment. On day 15, the animals were weighed, deeply anesthetized with isoflurane, and euthanized for subsequent collection of the liver, spleen, and kidneys. The relative organ weights were determined, followed by histopathological analysis. Artesunate + mefloquine produced toxic effects compared with the negative control group, reflected by changes in clinical signs, relative organ weights, and histopathological alterations. In MEFAS-treated animals, no changes were observed compared with the negative control group. These findings demonstrate that MEFAS is safer than artesunate + mefloquine after acute administration in mice.

The preclinical discovery and development of rectal artesunate for the treatment of malaria in young children: a review of the evidence.

INTRODUCTION: Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, kills hundreds of thousands of people per year, mainly young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Artesunate suppositories are recommended as pre-referral malaria treatment in remote endemic areas for severely ill children to prevent progression of the disease and to provide extra time for patients until the definitive severe malaria treatment can be administered. AREAS COVERED: The authors provide an overview of the discovery of artesunate and its different formulations focusing on rectal administration, summarizing key studies concerning the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, safety, tolerability and efficacy of rectal artesunate leading to WHO recommendation and market authorization in Africa. In addition, studies on acceptance and adherence to rectal artesunate administration and the post-launch status are also covered. EXPERT OPINION: Efforts by ministries of health in malaria endemic countries together with international health organizations should establish and enforce guidelines to ensure the correct use of artesunate suppositories only as pre-referral medication in presumed severe malaria cases to minimize the risk of abuse as a monotherapy for treatment of uncomplicated malaria. The priority is to not jeopardize the efficacy of artesunate and to prevent resistance development against this valuable drug class in Africa.

Artesunate synergizes with sorafenib to induce ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Sorafenib is the first-line medication for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but it can only extend limited survival. It is imperative to find a combination strategy to increase sorafenib efficacy. Artesunate is such a preferred candidate, because artesunate is clinically well-tolerated and more importantly both drugs can induce ferroptosis through different mechanisms. In this study we investigated the combined effect of sorafenib and artesunate in inducing ferroptosis of HCC and elucidated the involved molecular mechanisms. We showed that artesunate greatly enhanced the anticancer effects of low dose of sorafenib against Huh7, SNU-449, and SNU-182 HCC cell lines in vitro and against Huh7 cell xenograft model in Balb/c nude mice. The combination index method confirmed that the combined effect of sorafenib and artesunate was synergistic. Compared with the treatment with artesunate or sorafenib alone, combined treatment induced significantly exacerbated lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis, which was blocked by N-acetyl cysteine and ferroptosis inhibitors liproxstatin-1 and deferoxamine mesylate, but not by inhibitors of other types of cell death (z-VAD, necrostatin-1 and belnacasan). In Huh7 cells, we demonstrated that the combined treatment induced oxidative stress and lysosome-mediated ferritinophagy, two essential aspects of ferroptosis. Sorafenib at low dose mainly caused oxidative stress through mitochondrial impairments and SLC7A11-invovled glutathione depletion. Artesunate-induced lysosome activation synergized with sorafenib-mediated pro-oxidative effects by promoting sequential reactions including lysosomal cathepsin B/L activation, ferritin degradation, lipid peroxidation, and consequent ferroptosis. Taken together, artesunate could be repurposed to sensitize sorafenib in HCC treatment. The combined treatment can be easily translated into clinical applications.

In vitro and in vivo Effects of Artesunate on Echinococcus granulosus Protoscoleces and Metacestodes.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we aim to investigate the efficiency of artesunate (AS) on Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces and metacestodes. METHODS: For the in vitro assay, the eosin dye exclusion test and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were utilized to evaluate the effects of AS against protoscoleces (PSCs) from Echinococcus granulosus. In addition, mortality, ultrastructure change, reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and DNA damage were measured in order to explore the anti-echinococcosis mechanism of AS. For the in vivo assay, CE-infected mice were divided into model group, albendazole (ABZ) group (200 mg/kg), low AS (AS-L) group (50 mg/kg), moderate AS (AS-M) group (100 mg/kg), and high AS (AS-H) group (200 mg/kg). Upon 6 weeks oral administration, wet weight of cysts and the ultrastructural changes of cystic wall were utilized to evaluate the effects of AS on metacestodes. In addition, the liver biochemical parameters, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), glutathione/glutathione oxidized (GSH/GSSG) ratio in serum, and H2O2, total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) in cyst fluid were detected. RESULTS: Both in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that AS showed anti-parasitic effects on CE. The AS could elevate the ROS level in the PSCs, which then resulted in obvious DNA damages. AS could significantly improve the liver biochemical parameters in infected mice compared with the model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, AS-M and AS-H decrease the TNF-α content (P < 0.05); AS-H group significantly decrease in the serum GSH/GSSG ratio (P < 0.05). The content of H2O2 in hydatid fluid treated by AS showed significant decrease compared with the model group (P < 0.01), while the T-SOD level showed significant elevation compared with model group (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In this study, we confirmed that the effects of AS on Echinococcus granulosus protoscoleces and metacestodes may be related to the DNA damages induced by oxidative stress, which provided solid information for the research and development of drugs for cystic echinococcosis.

Multiple modes of cell death in neuroendocrine tumors induced by artesunate.

BACKGROUND: The paucity of effective treatment in neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) encouraged us to investigate the therapeutic value of artesunate (ART) promised by its inhibitory effect against various tumors and broad safety profile. METHODS: We evaluated the impact of ART on three NET cell lines, BON-1, QGP-1 and NCI-H727 on cellular and molecular levels. RESULTS: Our results showed that ART induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress through phosphorylation of eIF2α, which further gave rise to autophagy in all three NET cell lines. Specifically, apoptosis and ferroptosis were also observed in BON-1 cells, which made BON-1 cell line more vulnerable upon ART treatment. The different sensitivities presented on the three cell lines also associated with a differential regulation of p21 on the long run. Co-treatment with p21 inhibitor UC2288 showed an additive effect on QGP-1 and NCI-H727 cell lines indicating p21 upregulation in these two cell lines might confer resistance towards ART treatment. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to include ART in the treatment of NETs in the future.

In Vitro and In Vivo Efficacy of DNA Damage Repair Inhibitor Veliparib in Combination with Artesunate against Echinococcus granulosus.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by the cestode Echinococcus granulosus, is a worldwide chronic zoonosis. Albendazole (ABZ) and mebendazole are effective against CE, but a high dosage in a long-term period is usually required. In this study, we evaluate the effects of DNA damage repair inhibitor (i.e., Veliparib) in combination with artesunate (AS) on hydatid cysts. For the in vitro assay, protoscoleces of E. granulosus (E.g PSCs) were incubated with low AS (AS-L, 65 µM), moderate AS (AS-M, 130 µM), and high AS (AS-H, 325 µM), AS-L/M/H+Veliparib (10 µM), and ABZ (25 µM), respectively. The AS-H+Veliparib group showed the maximal protoscolicidal effects. Ultrastructural change revealed that germinal layer (GL) cells were reduced, and lipid droplets appeared. AS could induce DNA injuries in PSCs. The 8-OHdG was expressed in the PSCs and GL of the cysts in mice, especially in the presence of Veliparib. The most severe DNA damages were observed in the AS-H+Veliparib group. Meanwhile, the expression of ribosomal protein S9 (RPS9) gene in the AS-H+Veliparib group was significantly lower than that in the AS-H group. The in vivo chemotherapeutic effects of AS-L (50 mg/kg), AS-H (200 mg/kg), and AS-H+Veliparib (25 mg/kg) were assessed in experimentally infected mice. Upon 6 weeks of oral administration, ultrasonography was used to monitor the volume change of vesicles. Maximum potentiation was seen on day 15 with values (versus AS) of 34 (P < 0.05) for AS-H + Veliparib. It led to the reduction of cyst weight (55.40%) compared with the model group (P < 0.01), which was better than AS alone (52.84%) and ABZ-treated mice (55.35%). Analysis of cysts collected from AS-H+Veliparib-treated mice by transmission electron microscopy revealed a drug-induced structural destruction. The structural integrity of the germinal layer was lost, and the majority of the microtriches disappeared. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that AS or AS in combination with Veliparib is effective for treating CE, especially the combination group. On this basis, AS represented promising drug candidates in anti-CE chemotherapy.

Hyaluronic acid-coated metal-organic frameworks benefit the ROS-mediated apoptosis and amplified anticancer activity of artesunate.

Artesunate (AS), as an effective new tumour treatment drug, induces cancer cell death based on high intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by interacting with ferrous ions. However, the relatively low intracellular ferrous iron ion concentrations and the low efficiency of ROS generation limit its clinical application. Herein, we developed a metal-organic framework-Fe2+ (MOF), and AS was loaded in the MOF and then coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) on the surface of the MOF (HA@MOF-AS) for targeted and enhanced cancer treatment. HA@MOF-AS has high loading efficiency, good monodispersity, biocompatibility, strong cell uptake capacity and high intracellular ROS production, and it can target tumour tissues. In addition, in vivo anticancer studies have shown that HA@MOF-AS not only has high accumulation in tumours but also significantly inhibits tumour growth without significant damage to major organs. Therefore, HA@MOF-AS has excellent potential and may open a new approach for targeted cancer treatment.

Post-malarial anemia in Mozambican children treated with quinine or artesunate: A retrospective observational study.

OBJECTIVES: This retrospective analysis performed in Manhiça, Southern Mozambique, aimed to describe the frequency of post-malarial anemia (measured as a decrease of hematocrit ≥10%) and the need for blood transfusions in children with severe malaria treated with intravenous quinine or parenteral artesunate. METHODS: All children <15 years admitted with a parasitologically-confirmed diagnosis of malaria from 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2017, alive at hospital discharge, and with at least one measurement of hematocrit within 28 days after hospital discharge, detected by passive case detection, were included. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of post-malarial anemia observed in the study was 23.13%, with an estimated incidence rate of 288.84 episodes/1,000 children-month at risk in the follow-up period (28 days after discharge). There were no differences between treatment groups, although the study showed a higher association between blood transfusions and artesunate treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In this setting, children with severe malaria frequently present a meaningful decrease of hematocrit (>=10%) in the first weeks after their episode, sometimes requiring blood transfusions. Because of the high underlying prevalence of anemia in malaria-endemic settings, all children with severe malaria need to be actively followed up, irrespective of the treatment received.

Increase hemoglobin level in severe malarial anemia while controlling parasitemia: A mathematical model.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by immune cells; it can play a protective or deleterious role in response to pathogens. The intracellular malaria parasite secretes a similar protein, PMIF. The present paper is concerned with severe malarial anemia (SMA), where MIF suppresses the recruitment of red blood cells (RBCs) from the spleen and the bone marrow. This suppression results in a decrease of the hemoglobin (Hb) in the blood to a dangerous level. Indeed, SMA is responsible for the majority of death-related malaria cases. Artesunate is the first line of treatment of SMA; it accelerates the death of infected RBCs (iRBCs), thereby decreasing parasitemia. However, artesunate does not increase the level of Hb, and, in some cases, post-artesunate hemolytic anemia requires blood transfusion. In order to avoid this situation, we explore combining artesunate with another drug so that the Hb level is increased to healthy levels while parasitemia is still controlled. In this paper we show, by a mathematical model, that increasing the Hb levels while controlling parasitemia in malarial anemia can be done with the experimental drug Epoxyazadiradione (Epoxy) in combination with artesunate. Epoxy acts as MIF inhibitor and thus has the potential to increase the Hb level. Simulations of the model show that the two drugs compliment each other: while artesunate is primarily responsible for decreasing parasitemia, Epoxy is primarily responsible for increasing the hemoglobin level.

A first-in-human proof-of-concept trial of intravaginal artesunate to treat cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3 (CIN2/3).

OBJECTIVE: Most treatment options for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2/3 (CIN2/3) are either excisional or ablative, and require sequential visits to health care providers. Artesunate, a compound that is WHO-approved for treatment of acute malaria, also has cytotoxic effect on squamous cells transformed by HPV. We conducted a first-in-human Phase I dose-escalation study to assess the safety and efficacy of self-administered artesunate vaginal inserts in biopsy-confirmed CIN2/3. METHODS: Safety analyses were based on patients who received at least one dose, and were assessed by the severity, frequency, and duration of reported adverse events. Tolerability was assessed as the percentage of subjects able to complete their designated dosing regimen. Modified intention-to-treat analyses for efficacy and viral clearance were based on patients who received at least one dose for whom endpoint data were available. Efficacy was defined as histologic regression to CIN1 or less. Viral clearance was defined as absence of HPV genotoype (s) detected at baseline. RESULTS: A total of 28 patients received 1, 2, or 3 five-day treatment cycles at study weeks 0, 2, and 4, respectively, prior to a planned, standard-of-care resection at study week 15. Reported adverse events were mild, and self-limited. In the modified intention-to-treat analysis, histologic regression was observed in 19/28 (67.9%) subjects. Clearance of HPV genotypes detected at baseline occurred in 9 of the 19 (47.4%) subjects whose lesions underwent histologic regression. CONCLUSIONS: Self-administered vaginal artesunate inserts were safe and well-tolerated, at clinically effective doses to treat CIN2/3. These findings support proceeding with Phase II clinical studies.

An evaluation of rectal artesunate for the pre-hospital management of severe malaria.

INTRODUCTION: Severe falciparum malaria stills accounts for around half a million childhood deaths per year in sub-Saharan Africa. Prompt treatment of sick children close to home starting with artesunate given rectally by appropriately trained people can be lifesaving. AREAS COVERED: Rectal artesunate (RAS) has been developed for use in the WHO approved strategy of pre-referral intervention. This review covers the formulation, pharmacokinetics, safety, efficacy, and implementation of this drug. There is little RCT evidence and the only RCT has been controversial. It is unlikely that there will be further randomized studies in the field. There is a concern that the administration of a single dose of artesunate without adequate follow up therapy may encourage the emergence of artemisinin resistance. EXPERT OPINION: Artesunate is an essential drug and RAS is a very useful, potentially lifesaving formulation designed to be quickly administered in remote areas to severely unwell children by non-medical personnel. However, its use needs to be monitored and onward referral for definitive antimalarial treatment ensured.