Artemisinin-based combinations

Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases

Volumn 18, Issue 6, 2005, Pages 531-536

  Ashley, Elizabeth A ^a,b,c   White, Nicholas J ^b,c  

^a SHOKLO MALARIA RESEARCH UNIT   (Thailand)

^b MAHIDOL UNIVERSITY   (Thailand)

^c CHURCHILL HOSPITAL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Artemisinin; Combination therapy; Malaria

Indexed keywords

1,2,4 TRIOXANE DERIVATIVE; AMODIAQUINE; ARTEMETHER; ARTEMETHER PLUS BENFLUMETOL; ARTEMISIN DERIVATIVE; ARTESUNATE; ATOVAQUONE PLUS PROGUANIL; CHLOROQUINE; DIHYDROARTEMISININ; DIHYDROARTEMISININ DERIVATIVE; FANSIDAR; MEFLOQUINE; PIPERAQUINE; QUININE;

AUDIOMETRY; BRAIN MALARIA; CLINICAL TRIAL; CONGENITAL MALFORMATION; COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS; DISEASE SEVERITY; DRUG ABSORPTION; DRUG BLOOD LEVEL; DRUG EFFICACY; DRUG MECHANISM; DRUG SAFETY; DRUG SOLUBILITY; DRUG TOLERABILITY; HUMAN; HYPOGLYCEMIA; MALARIA FALCIPARUM; MORTALITY; NONHUMAN; OTOTOXICITY; PATIENT COMPLIANCE; POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION; PRENATAL EXPOSURE; REINFECTION; REVIEW; SUPPOSITORY; TERATOGENICITY;

EID: 27744541969     PISSN: 09517375     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1097/01.qco.0000186848.46417.6c     Document Type: Review

References (41)

1. Snow RW, Guerra CA, Noor AM, et al. The global distribution of clinical episodes of Plasmodium falciparum malaria. Nature 2005; 434:214-217. A report describing an innovative methodological approach of a vast and detailed project aiming to estimate the global malarial burden with a higher degree of accuracy than conventional reporting methods.
2. Attaran A, Barnes KI, Curtis C, et al. WHO, the Global Fund, and medical malpractice in malaria treatment. Lancet 2004; 363:237-240.
3. Roll Back Malaria/World Health Organization. Position of WHO's Roll Back Malaria Department on malaria treatment policy. Statement; 2004. http:// www.who.int/malaria/docs/who_apt_position.htm. [Accessed 28 August 2005] The policy change of the WHO to support a strategy of ACT is clearly laid out in this statement.
4. SouthEast Asian Quinine Artesunate Malaria Trial Group. Artesunate versus quinine for treatment of severe falciparum malaria; a randomised trial. Lancet 2005; 366:717-725.
5. Artemether-Quinine Meta-analysis Study Group. A meta-analysis using individual patient data of trials comparing artemether with quinine in the treatment of severe falciparum malaria. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2001; 95:637-650.
6. Murphy S, Mberu E, Muhia D, et al. The disposition of intramuscular artemether in children with severe malaria: a preliminary study. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 1997; 91:331-334.
7. Mithwani S, Aarons L, Kokwaro GO, et al. Population pharmacokinetics of artemether and dihydroartemisinin following single intramuscular dosing of artemether in African children with severe falciparum malaria. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2004; 57:146-152.
8. Hien TT, Davis TM, Chuong LV, et al. Comparative pharmacokinetics of intramuscular artesunate and artemether in patients with severe falciparum malaria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2004; 48:4234-4239. This study provides a pharmacokinetic explanation for the superiority of parenteral artesunate over artemether in the treatment of severe malaria.
9. Jefford CW. Synthetic peroxides as antimalarials. Curr Opin Investig Drugs 2004; 5:866-872. A review of the current status of the antimalarial synthetic peroxide compounds.
10. Aceng JR, Byarugaba JS, Tumwine JK. Rectal artemether versus intravenous quinine for the treatment of cerebral malaria in children in Uganda: randomised clinical trial. BMJ 2005; 330:334. This small study showed similar cure rates following treatment of severe malaria with rectal artemether or intravenous quinine.
11. Karunajeewa HA, Ilett KF, Dufall K, et al. Disposition of artesunate and dihydroartemisinin after administration of artesunate suppositories in children from Papua New Guinea with uncomplicated malaria. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2004; 48:2966-2972. A study illustrating the variable pharmacokinetics of artesunate after administration via the rectal route.
12. Mayxay M, Khanthavong M, Lindegardh N, et al. Randomized comparison of chloroquine plus sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine versus artesunate plus mefloquine versus artemether-lumefantrine in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in the Lao People's Democratic Republic. Clin Infect Dis 2004; 39:1139-1147. The first large trial to be published demonstrating high efficacy of two ACTs in Laos. These data were used to support policy change.
13. Stohrer JM, Dittrich S, Thongpaseuth V, et al. Therapeutic efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine and artesunate-mefloquine for treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Luang Namtha Province, Lao People's Democratic Republic. Trop Med Int Health 2004; 9:1175-1183.
14. Guthmann JP, Ampuero J, Fortes F, et al. Antimalarial efficacy of chloroquine, amodiaquine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, and the combinations of amodiaquine + artesunate and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine + artesunate in Huambo and Bie provinces, central Angola. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2005; 99:485-492.
15. van den Broek I, Amsalu R, Balasegaram M, et al. Efficacy of two artemisinin combination therapies for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in children under 5 years, Malakal, Upper Nile, Sudan. Malar J 2005; 4:14. A well designed trial of ACTs with 6-week follow up in patients from Sudan.
16. Depoortere E, Guthmann JP, Presse J, et al. Efficacy and effectiveness of the combination of sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine and a 3-day course of artesunate for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in a refugee settlement in Zambia. Trop Med Int Health 2005; 10:139-145. The potential for disparity between treatment efficacy and effectiveness is displayed clearly in this prospective study.
17. Piola P, Fogg C, Bajunirwe F, et al. Supervised versus unsupervised intake of six-dose artemether-lumefantrine for treatment of acute, uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Mbarara, Uganda: a randomised trial. Lancet 2005; 365:1467-1473. A well conducted large effectiveness study including a pharmacokinetic analysis.
18. alade C, Makanga M, Premji Z, et al. Efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem®) tablets (six-dose regimen) in African infants and children with acute, uncomplicated falciparum malaria. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2005; 99:459-467 A prospective noncomparative study documenting the safety, tolerability and efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine in lower body weight infants.
19. Stepniewska K, Taylor WRJ, Mayxay M, et al. The in vivo assessment of antimalarial drug efficacy in falciparum malaria: the duration of follow-up. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2004; 48:4271-4280.
20. Mutabingwa TK, Anthony D, Heller A, et al. Amodiaquine alone, amodiaquine + sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, amodiaquine + artesunate, and artemether- lumefantrine for outpatient treatment of malaria in Tanzanian children: a four-arm randomised effectiveness trial. Lancet 2005; 365:1474-1480. A large effectiveness trial which highlights the disastrous situation of drug resistance in Tanzania and the performance of different combinations with and without artemisinin derivatives.
21. Staedke SG, Mpimbaza A, Kamya MR, et al. Combination treatments for uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Kampala, Uganda: randomised clinical trial. Lancet 2004; 364:1950-1957. This well conducted trial illustrates how comparable clinical cure rates may disguise significant differences in treatment efficacy.
22. Attaran A. Rescuing malaria treatment, or not? Lancet 2004; 364:1922-1923.
23. Shetty P. Global fund switches to artemisinin. Lancet Infect Dis 2004; 4: 477.
24. Ashley EA, Krudsood S, Phaiphun L, et al. Randomized, controlled dose-optimization studies of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated multidrug-resistant falciparum malaria in Thailand. J Infect Dis 2004; 190:1773-1782.
25. Ashley EA, McGready R, Hutagalung R, et al. A randomized controlled study of a simple once daily regimen of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine for the treatment of uncomplicated multi-drug resistant falciparum malaria. Clin Infect Dis 2005; 41:425-432.
26. Kachur SP, Khatib RA, Kaizer E, et al. Adherence to antimalarial combination therapy with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and artesunate in rural Tanzania. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2004; 71:715-722. A well conducted detailed study which looks at factors affecting adherence to drugs using an innovative methodological approach to try and minimize bias.
27. Fogg C, Bajunirwe F, Piola P, et al. Adherence to a six-dose regimen of artemether-lumefantrine for treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Uganda. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2004; 71:525-530. An encouraging study reporting good adherence to artemether-lumefantrine in more than 200 patients following clear dosage explanation.
28. Depoortere E, Salvador ET, Stivanello E, et al. Adherence to a combination of artemether and lumefantrine (Coartem) in Kajo Keji, southern Sudan. Ann Trop Med Parasitol 2004; 98:635-637. An adherence study from a complex emergency setting is reported following a change in treatment policy.
29. Price RN, Uhlemann AC, Brockman A, et al. Mefloquine resistance in Plasmodium falciparum and increased pfmdr1 gene copy number. Lancet 2004; 364:438-447. This detailed report of the findings of molecular genotyping of clinical samples of drug-resistant infections collected over many years provides compelling evidence that increases in Pfmdr1 copy number are the key marker for resistance of falciparum malaria to mefloquine. Interesting observations of the association with in-vitro susceptibility to the artemisinin derivatives are also presented.
30. Eckstein-Ludwig U, Webb RJ, Van Goethem ID, et al. Artemisinins target the SERCA of Plasmodium falciparum. Nature 2003; 424:957-961.
31. Uhlemann AC, Cameron A, Eckstein-Ludwig U, et al. A single amino acid residue can determine the sensitivity of SERCAs to artemisinins. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2005; 12:628-629. A possible mechanism for resistance to artemisinins is revealed.
32. Sisowath C, Stromberg J, Martensson A, et al. In vivo selection of Plasmodium falciparum pfmdr1 86N coding alleles by artemether-lumefantrine (Coartem). J Infect Dis 2005; 191:1014-1017. Selection of new infections with 'wild type' Pfmdr by residual lumefantrine.
33. Toovey S, Jamieson A. Audiometric changes associated with the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with co-artemether. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2004; 98:261-267; discussion 268-269.
34. Mehta U, Barnes KI, Kathard H, et al. Comment on: Audiometric changes associated with the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with co-artemether. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2005; 99:313-314. In this letter the debate surrounding the potential for artemether-lumefantrine to cause toxicity to the auditory system continues.
35. Toovey S. Reply to comment on: Audiometric changes associated with the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with co-artemether. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2005; 99:314-315.
36. Reinhart H, Hughson C, de Palacios PI. Comment on: Audiometric changes associated with the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with co-artemether. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2005; 99:315-316.
37. Toovey S. Reply to comment on: Audiometric changes associated with the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria with co-artemether. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2005; 99:316-317.
38. Adam I, Elwasila E, Mohammed Ali DA, et al. Artemether in the treatment of falciparum malaria during pregnancy in eastern Sudan. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2004; 98:509-513. A small but important case series documenting the safety of artemether in pregnancy, including prospective follow up of the infants until 1 year of life.
39. McGready R, Ashley EA, Moo E, et al. A randomised comparison of artesunate-atovaquone-proguanil versus quinine in the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in pregnancy. J Infect Dis 2005; 192:846-853.
40. Dondorp AM, Newton PN, Mayxay M, et al. Fake antimalarials in Southeast Asia are a major impediment to malaria control: multinational cross-sectional survey on the prevalence of fake antimalarials. Trop Med Int Health 2004; 9:1241-1246. The results of this survey are presented, including useful information to help readers identify fake drugs.
41. Muheki C, McIntyre D, Barnes KI. Artemisinin-based combination therapy reduces expenditure on malaria treatment in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Trop Med Int Health 2004; 9:959-966. An impressive cost-effectiveness analysis of the introduction of artemether-lumefantrine into a single province. Policymakers have tended to look simply at the cost of goods and not to weigh up the benefits of new antimalarial drugs.