title: Antiprotozoal compounds: state of the art and new developments.
abstract: Protozoa can cause severe diseases, including malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, sleeping sickness and amoebiasis, all being responsible for morbidity and mortality particularly in tropical countries. To date there are no protective vaccines against any of these diseases, and many of the available drugs are old or elicit serious adverse reactions. Moreover, parasite resistance to existing drugs has become a serious problem. Owing to lack of financial returns, research in this field is of limited interest to pharmaceutical companies and largely depends on funding by public authorities. This article aims to provide a concise overview of the state-of-the-art treatment for the most important tropical protozoal infections as well as new approaches.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, A-1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Astelbauer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walochnik
mesh_terms: D000562:Amebiasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000639:trends; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D004345:Drug Industry / Q000639:trends; D004351:Drug Resistance; D006801:Humans; D007896:Leishmaniasis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008288:Malaria / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents