Impact of COVID-19 on the Utilization of Maternal and Child Health Services at a Regional Referral Hospital in Kenya.

Background And Objective: Pandemics, like COVID-19, disrupt healthcare, potentially reversing progress in various disease areas. The impact on maternal and child health (MCH) services in Kenya during the pandemic is yet to be determined. Recognizing this impact is crucial for formulating policies and programs that minimize disruptions in reproductive health services during future health crises.

Emerging Drug Targets for Antimalarial Drug Discovery: Validation and Insights into Molecular Mechanisms of Function.

Approximately 619,000 malaria deaths were reported in 2021, and resistance to recommended drugs, including artemisinin-combination therapies (ACTs), threatens malaria control. Treatment failure with ACTs has been found to be as high as 93% in northeastern Thailand, and parasite mutations responsible for artemisinin resistance have already been reported in some African countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify alternative treatments with novel targets.

Medicinal Chemistry and Target Identification of Synthetic Clinical and Advanced Preclinical Antimalarial Candidates (2000 - 2022).

Background: The downward trend in malaria cases and deaths is steadily reversed - 627,000 deaths in 2020 compared to 405,000 deaths in 2018. Drug resistance has compromised the effectiveness of currently available treatment options, with some reports documenting molecular markers of resistance to artemisinins in African countries in addition to the Greater Mekong subregion, which was initially associated with this kind of resistance. Therefore, the development of novel drugs is crucial to replenishing the antimalarial drug arsenal toward malaria eradication.

Thwarting protein synthesis leads to malaria parasite paralysis.

Inhibiting translation presents a tantalizing strategy to tackle the most virulent human malaria parasite. Xie et al. disclose a compound that binds selectively to Plasmodium falciparum tyrosine aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, preventing the incorporation of tyrosine into nascent proteins and paving the way for a new generation of safe, effective antimalarials.

Structure-Activity Relationship and in Vitro Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicity (ADMET) Studies of N-aryl 3-Trifluoromethyl Pyrido[1,2- a]benzimidazoles That Are Efficacious in a Mouse Model of Schistosomiasis.

We have previously reported on the antischistosomal activity of pyrido[1,2- a]benzimidazole (PBI) derivatives. As a follow-up, we designed and prosecuted further structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies that incorporate N-aryl substitutions on the PBI scaffold. Investigations into the in vitro antischistosomal activity against newly transformed schistosomula (NTS) and adult worms revealed several leads with promising potency.

Structure-Activity Relationship Studies and Plasmodium Life Cycle Profiling Identifies Pan-Active N-Aryl-3-trifluoromethyl Pyrido[1,2- a]benzimidazoles Which Are Efficacious in an in Vivo Mouse Model of Malaria.

Structure-activity relationship studies involving N-aryl-3-trifluoromethyl pyrido[1,2- a]benzimidazoles (PBI) identified several compounds possessing potent in vitro activities against the asexual blood, liver, and gametocyte stages of the Plasmodium parasite with no cross-resistance to chloroquine. Frontrunner lead compounds with good in vitro absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) profiles were subjected to in vivo proof-of-concept studies in NMRI mice harboring the rodent P. berghei infection.

Antischistosomal Activity of Pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole Derivatives and Correlation with Inhibition of β-Hematin Formation.

The extensive use of praziquantel against schistosomiasis raises concerns about drug resistance. New therapeutic alternatives targeting critical pathways within the parasite are therefore urgently needed. Hemozoin formation in Schistosoma presents one such target.