Editor: Norma Rivera

Antiprotozoal Drug Discovery: A Challenge That Remains

eBook: US $39 Special Offer (PDF + Printed Copy): US $132
Printed Copy: US $112
Library License: US $156
ISBN: 978-1-68108-330-8 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-68108-329-2 (Online)
Year of Publication: 2016
DOI: 10.2174/97816810832921160101

Introduction

Protozoan infections that are endemic in countries with limited economic resources pose a significant public health challenge to affected communities and some of these diseases are categorized as neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization. At the moment, there is an urgent need to identify and develop new antiprotozoal drugs. Antiprotozoal Drug Discovery: A Challenge That Remains brings together research from all scientists (including parasitologists, chemists, biologists among others) involved in the field of antiprotozoal experimental pharmacology, drug design and natural product research. The monograph is a compilation of review chapters written by experts on medical parasitology and pharmacology that covers a wide range of topics such as general characteristics of protozoan diseases (malaria, toxoplasmosis, Chagas’ disease, leishmaniasis, trichomoniasis) prophylaxis, treatments, natural products and rational drug design. The contents of this book are useful to medical microbiologists and pharmaceutical scientists seeking to update their knowledge about antiprotozoal drug design.

Indexed in: BIOSIS Previews, Book Citation Index, EBSCO.

Preface

Protozoan parasites are a worldwide public health problem that challenge the immune system of millions of humans and non-humans animals, resulting in devastating social and economic consequences. Until now, chemotherapy is central to the control of most of the infections caused by these parasites in both medical and veterinary practice. Chemotherapy control, has been mainly compromised by the development of parasite drug resistance, drugs severe side-effects and toxicity, low to medium efficacy, high cost drugs, and the introduction of counterfeit drugs that are a threat to public health with many overwhelming effects for patients; consequently, the search for new antiprotozoan drugs is an urgent need.

The development of new drugs against these parasites, has been largely neglected because they mainly affect people living in extreme poverty with limited or non-marketing possibilities; for these reasons, in some endemic countries, herbal medicine has become an important and sustainable source of control.

This eBook is an effort of researches who work in the field of antiparasitic experimental chemotherapy and medical parasitology and it summarizes the progresses made in the field of chemotherapy and drug research against protozoan diseases. Synthetic and natural treatments to control Chagas disease, malaria, toxoplasmosis and other parasitic diseases, are discussed in order to open the possibility for applying these scientific progress in the field of antiprotozoan chemotherapy.

The editor and the authors would like to thank Bentham Science Publishers for providing the opportunity to bring this knowledge to the scientific community and to the general public.

Norma Rivera
Laboratory of Malariology
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology
Faculty of Medicine
UNAM
Mexico

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