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. 2011 Sep 22;365(12):1073-5.
doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1108322.

The threat of artemisinin-resistant malaria

Arjen M Dondorp  1 , Rick M Fairhurst, Laurence Slutsker, John R Macarthur, Joel G Breman, Philippe J Guerin, Thomas E Wellems, Pascal Ringwald, Robert D Newman, Christopher V Plowe
Affiliations

The threat of artemisinin-resistant malaria

Arjen M Dondorp et al. N Engl J Med. .
No abstract available

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Dynamics of Parasite-Killing Activity of Artemisinins and Other Antimalarial Drugs
Against sensitive P. falciparum infection, the fast-acting and rapidly cleared artemisinins are the most potent antimalarial drugs known, reducing the parasite load by a factor of 10,000 per 48-hour asexual-stage parasite cycle. In the partially resistant strains of P. falciparum that are commonly found on the Cambodia–Thailand border, the parasite load is now reduced only by a factor of 100 per cycle — an effect similar to that of slower-acting drugs such as quinine (bottom of figure). Another unique and advantageous feature of the artemisinins is their broad stage-specificity, but this seems to be compromised in the resistant Southeast Asian parasites (top). Parasites that are at the ring stage during the brief period of exposure to rapidly eliminated artemisinins have reduced susceptibility, which results in delayed parasite clearance following treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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