Combination therapy using drugs with different mechanisms of action is the current state of the art in antimalarial treatment. However, except for artemisinin-based combination therapies, only a few other combinations are now available. Increasing concern regarding the emergence and spread of artemisinin resistance in Plasmodium falciparum has led to a need for the development of new antimalarials. Moreover, the efficacy of current available chemoprophylaxis is compromised by drug resistance and noncompliance due to intolerable adverse effects or complicated dosing regimens. Therefore, new antimalarials that are more effective, safer, and more convenient are also urgently needed for malaria chemoprophylaxis. In this study, we assessed the combination of azithromycin and naphthoquine in animal malaria models. A dose-dependent interaction was observed in Peters' 4-day suppressive test on P. berghei K173-infected mice. Moreover, at inhibition levels of ≥90%, synergistic effects were found for combinations at various ratios. At an optimal dose ratio of 1:1, the combination of azithromycin and naphthoquine acted synergistically even by 4 weeks after the first dose and provided a more effective and sustained prophylaxis than did naphthoquine alone in blood-stage P. berghei K173 and P. cynomolgibastianelli L challenge models. The ability of the combination to delay and slow down resistance development in P. berghei K173 was also shown. These results showed clear evidence for the benefit of the combination therapy with azithromycin and naphthoquine in animal malaria models, providing some insight for further development of this therapy for malaria treatment and prophylaxis.
Keywords: azithromycin; chemotherapy; combination therapy; malaria; naphthoquine; prophylaxis.
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