Malaria Prophylaxis in Different Age Groups.

Background: There is a perceived increased health risk in senior visitors to malaria endemic countries. Methods: The authors sought to compare effectiveness and tolerability of malaria chemoprophylaxis in senior travelers (>=60 years) with those in younger travelers (20-59 years). The "Malpro 2" database consists of more than 100,000 questionnaires completed by travelers on charter planes returning from East Africa to Europe during July 1988-December 1991.

Arteflene compared with mefloquine for treating Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children.

Arteflene is a synthetic peroxide recently developed from an indication of antimalarial activity found in the Chinese plant Artabotrys uncinatus. The new antimalarial was compared against mefloquine in a phase 3, open-labeled, randomized trial in children with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria in Gabon. Patients received single oral doses of either 25 mg/kg of arteflene suspension or 15 mg/kg of mefloquine tablets.

Mefloquine in the Prophylaxis of P. Falciparum Malaria.

Background: The objectives of this study were (1) to compare the efficacy of Lariam (mefloquine) with that of Fansimef (mefloquine, sulfadoxine, and pyrimethamine), Fansidar (sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine), chloroquine, and placebo in suppressing asexual parasitemia in semi-immune persons living in an area endemic for Plasmodium falciparum malaria; and (2) to compare the tolerance of these drugs when taken over a prolonged period of time. Method: A randomized double-blind comparative placebo-controlled study was undertaken in the village of Biasso, 60 km from Abidjan in the southern part of the Ivory Coast, a region where P. falciparum malaria is endemic.

The chemotherapy of rodent malaria. LII. Response of Plasmodium yoelii ssp. NS to mefloquine and its enantiomers.

A comparison was made between the blood schizontocidal action in mice of racemic mefloquine hydrochloride and the free bases of its (+)- and (-)-enantiomers (Ro 13-7224 and Ro 13-7225) against chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium yoelii ssp. NS. The racemic hydrochloride was two to three times as active against this parasite in mice as either of the enantiomer free bases, which were of similar activity to each other.

Behavioural aspects of travellers in their use of malaria presumptive treatment.

The use of stand-by treatment for malaria by travellers depends on their knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. We examined the behavioural aspects of a cohort of travellers from Switzerland to low-risk malarial areas who, on recruitment, were provided with a kit containing medication for stand-by treatment, guidelines on the diagnosis of malaria, and materials for collection of blood samples for later confirmation of malaria. All subjects were urged to seek medical advice at the first signs of possible malarial symptoms.

Efficacy of Ro 42-1611 (arteflene) in the treatment of patients with mild malaria: a clinical trial in Cameroon.

The novel antimalarial Ro 42-1611 (arteflene) was evaluated for safety and efficacy in an open, non-comparative study of patients with mild malaria in the south of Cameroon. Thirty male patients aged 12 to 42 years, with an initial Plasmodium falciparum count of > 5000 (mean: 21,406) parasites/microliters and a body temperature of 37.7% to 39.

Ro 42-1611 in the treatment of patients with mild malaria: a clinical trial in Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

An open, non-comparative clinical trial was carried out in Nigeria and Burkina Faso to investigate the safety and efficacy of the novel antimalarial arteflene in patients with mild malaria. Patients were males aged 12 to 16 years, with a Plasmodium falciparum count of 10(4) to 10(5) parasites/microliters and a body temperature of 37.5 to 38.

Prevention of Plasmodium falciparum malaria by Fansimef and Lariam in the northeastern part of Thailand.

Two studies were conduct in Thailand in order to find appropriate falciparum malaria prophylactic drug regimens. The first study was done during June - September 1987 with 363 soldiers who received Fansimef (MSP) 1 tab/week (group 1), 337 soldiers who received MSP 1 tab/2 week (group 2) and 165 soldiers who received chloroquine 300 mg base weekly plus Fansidar 1 tab/week (group 3). At the end of the study there were 9 and 13 falciparum malaria episodes in groups 1 and 2, respectively, with incidence rates of 0.

Comparative tolerability and kinetics during long-term intake of Lariam and Fansidar for malaria prophylaxis in nonimmune volunteers.

One hundred and five healthy nonimmunes in Colombia took part in a randomize, double-blind comparison of 250 mg of Lariam (L) (active ingredient: mefloquine) on alternate weeks or one tablet of Fansidar (F) (active ingredients: sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine) weekly for malaria prophylaxis during at least six months. Volunteers also gave blood for determination of drug concentrations after six months and/or 24-27 months of prophylaxis. Twenty-five volunteers withdrew involuntarily when they lost their jobs in the company.

Commitment of Roche in malaria and other tropical diseases.

In the absence of a suitable malaria case definition, reliable surveillance data on the impact of malaria are not available. Determinants of case loads, including population movements, environmental changes, lack of political commitment and resources, and resistance to antimalarials and residual insecticides, work towards global deterioration. Some 90% of the Plasmodium falciparum burden is carried by Africa south of the Sahara.

[Emergency treatment of malaria during travel].

Stand-by therapy is the first treatment of a presumptive malaria by the traveller. Goals and possible indications are listed and the mode of application described. Information of the traveller by the physician is time consuming but very important for the correct use of stand-by therapy.

How frequent are notified severe cutaneous adverse reactions to Fansidar?

An attempt was made to estimate the risk of severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) to Fansidar (sulfadoxine plus pyrimethamine). Cases were identified through a spontaneous reporting system. Persons exposed were estimated using sales data of 27 countries reporting one SCAR case for either Fansidar or a related product, Bactrim (cotrimoxazole; sulfamethoxazole plus trimethoprim).

Mefloquine-sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (Fansimef, Roche) in the prophylaxis of Plasmodium falciparum malaria: a double-blind, comparative, placebo-controlled study.

From July 1987 to June 1988 a randomized, double-blind, comparative placebo-controlled field trial was conducted in a group of villages near Ibadan, Nigeria. The aim of the study was to assess the suppressive tolerability and efficacy of four antimalarials (Fansimef, Lariam, Fansidar, chloroquine) given for 24 weeks. Fansimef and Lariam were given with loading and maintenance doses, Fansidar and chloroquine as one tablet per week for 24 weeks.

Fansimef for prophylaxis of malaria: a double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial.

At a time when Fansimef, the fixed combination of mefloquine, sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine was considered for prophylaxis of falciparum malaria, a randomized double-blind study comparing the efficacy and tolerability of Fansimef with that of Lariam (mefloquine), Fansidar, chloroquine and placebo in malaria prophylaxis was performed in Thailand from July 1987 to January 1988. The study population of 602 adult males was recruited in Pak Tongchai District, some 360 km North-East of Bangkok, where multiresistant P. falciparum is endemic.

[Current drugs for the treatment of tropical malaria].

The occurrence in the early 60's of stable resistance to chloroquine among Plasmodium falciparum strains in the Amazonas and on the Thai-Cambodian border has been a shock for all malariologists. This led to the search for new antimalarials without cross resistance with chloroquine. For each new drug, one of the major concerns was to define how rapidly parasites would develop resistance to this compound.