PLoS medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Reduction of malaria transmission to Anopheles mosquitoes with a six-dose regimen of co-artemether.
Resistance of malaria parasites to chloroquine (CQ) and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) is increasing in prevalence in Africa. Combination therapy can both improve treatment and provide important public health benefits if it curbs the spread of parasites harbouring resistance genes. Thus, drug combinations must be identified which minimise gametocyte emergence in treated cases, and so prevent selective transmission of parasites resistant to any of the partner drugs. ⋯ Co-artemether is highly effective at preventing post-treatment transmission of P. falciparum. Our results suggest that co-artemether has specific activity against immature sequestered gametocytes, and has the capacity to minimise transmission of drug-resistant parasites.
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What are the causes, investigation, and management of hemispheric stroke? Find out in this case-based article
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A human-rights-based policy on mental health is urgently needed, argue Yamin and Rosenthal. Around half a billion people suffer from a mental or behavioral disorder, yet only a small minority receive even the most basic treatment
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Coronary artery disease is a major cause of death worldwide. Two very different approaches have been proposed as a way of reducing these deaths. The "high risk" approach uses tools such as risk factor scoring and carotid ultrasound to try and identify those at highest risk, and then treats them aggressively. The "population" approach aims to shift the distribution of risk factors across a population in a beneficial direction with the goal of reducing heart disease in the whole population.