{"id":1071,"date":"2020-03-26T21:54:06","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T21:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/fbd\/?p=1071"},"modified":"2020-04-15T20:14:29","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T20:14:29","slug":"new-medicine-targets-sleeping-sickness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/fbd\/new-medicine-targets-sleeping-sickness\/","title":{"rendered":"New medicine targets sleeping sickness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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New medication developed for sleeping sickness.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Researchers from our faculty, together with researchers at Ghent University have discovered a new medicine for the treatment of African ‘sleeping sickness’. “This disease seems to be on its way out, but it is still very useful to have a new medication to fall back on, because we can\u2019t rule out another sudden upswing “, says Prof. Guy Caljon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

African trypanosomiasis, also called ‘sleeping sickness’, is a deadly disease caused by the Trypanosoma brucei parasite, which lives in the tsetse fly. When an infected fly bites a person for its bloodmeal, the disease can start to develop. The West African variant of the disease often stays dormant for several years, while the East African variant is much more aggressive and can result in death within a matter of months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“A number of therapies do exist”, explains Prof. Guy Caljon from the Department of Biomedical Sciences. “However, the medicines currently in use often cause serious side effects and cannot be administered orally, which is a major hurdle for patients in remote areas. They often live far away from a health centre, so they can\u2019t just go and get treated.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Back-up medication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, there has been a steady decline in the number of cases, to around 1000 new patients per year. Caljon: “It seems that the disease can be eliminated. On a global scale, the problem is indeed relatively limited. Unfortunately, this also means that the development of new therapies for African sleeping sickness is not a priority for the pharmaceutical industry. However, it is still important to have an effective medicine as a back-up, as the disease could always reappear or develop resistance to current treatments.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Caljon and his UAntwerp colleague Prof. Louis Maes<\/a> worked on a new treatment in collaboration with scientists from Ghent University and researchers from several universities in other countries. “We set out to find substances that could take out the parasite in a specific way,” Maes explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was essential to find an affordable, orally administered medicine that could reach the brain.”<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Application in veterinary medicine<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The new therapy with nucleoside analogues has proven to be very effective in an extensive study with laboratory animals. The results of the research are described in the journal Nature Communications. “As a matter of fact, this new drug can also be used in veterinary medicine,” Caljon concludes. “African trypanosomiasis also affects livestock farming, a sector of enormous socioeconomic importance.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further reading<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Link to paper<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laboratory of Microbiology, Parasitology and Hygiene (LMPH)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HLN news article<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was written by Peter De Meyer, Prof. Guy Caljon, Prof. Louis Maes. Edited by: Dr. Bronwen Martin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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