Agrochemicals against malaria, sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012;6(10):e1805. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0001805. Epub 2012 Oct 25.

Abstract

In tropical regions, protozoan parasites can cause severe diseases with malaria, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness, and Chagas disease standing in the forefront. Many of the drugs currently being used to treat these diseases have been developed more than 50 years ago and can cause severe adverse effects. Above all, resistance to existing drugs is widespread and has become a serious problem threatening the success of control measures. In order to identify new antiprotozoal agents, more than 600 commercial agrochemicals have been tested on the pathogens causing the above mentioned diseases. For all of the pathogens, compounds were identified with similar or even higher activities than the currently used drugs in applied in vitro assays. Furthermore, in vivo activity was observed for the fungicide/oomyceticide azoxystrobin, and the insecticide hydramethylnon in the Plasmodium berghei mouse model, and for the oomyceticide zoxamide in the Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense STIB900 mouse model, respectively.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agrochemicals / pharmacology*
  • Agrochemicals / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Antiprotozoal Agents / pharmacology*
  • Antiprotozoal Agents / therapeutic use
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leishmania / drug effects*
  • Malaria / drug therapy
  • Mice
  • Parasitic Sensitivity Tests
  • Plasmodium / drug effects*
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Tropical Climate
  • Trypanosoma / drug effects*
  • Trypanosomiasis, African / drug therapy

Substances

  • Agrochemicals
  • Antiprotozoal Agents

Grants and funding

The study has been financed by a grant by BASF-SE. The corresponding author is an employee of BASF-SE. BASF-SE had no role in study design and data collection. Analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript has been done jointly by the corresponding author and the other authors from Swiss TPH (Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute).