New medical breakthrough may be crucial in developing an efficient cure against malaria.
Recently, a team of scientists from the University of Nottingham, have made a major breakthrough in malaria study. Scientists take another shot at malaria, after discovering a molecule that contributes to the parasite’s growth.
Sources from inside the University have confirmed that they are on the verge of finding out how the disease is transmitted from mosquito to humans. They have discovered and isolated 3 molecule protein, each of them playing crucial roles in the parasite’s cycle of life. The molecule protein also known as cyclin.
Cyclin is not a single compound, it basically refers to a bigger family of protein. These proteins are capable of controlling how each cell will progress through the so-called cell cycle. Cyclin is being able to enforce cell control by systematically activating a specific class of enzymes, known as cyclin-dependent kinase.
A group of three researchers from the same University, have identified three different groups of cyclin in the parasite’s body. The most important group of cyclin, that will ultimately prove vital in cracking the parasite’s genetical code, is the so-called P-cyclin.
The most interesting aspect of the research endeavor is the parasite’s cycle of life. Further research into the matter has come up with the most unusual fact: unlike most pathogens out there, capable of feeding off a single host, malaria requires two hosts, a human and a mosquito, in order to grow and develop.
One of the scientists has released a statement in which he proclaimed that this is actually the first study (“functional study”, he called it), that is actually capable of explaining cell division in the parasite’s body, by analyzing the three main categories of cyclin. He also added that their findings could prove to be very useful on the long run because, by better understating how things work inside the parasite’s body, we can develop new treatments against it. We are actually looking at a way to annihilate malaria, somewhere in the nearby future.
Each year, malaria kills almost half a million people around the world. Most of them succumb, due to several grave complications. Malaria can produce respiratory distress, metabolic acidosis, pulmonary edema, pneumonia and anemia. In very rare cases, malaria is capable of inducing ARDS (acute respiratory syndrome) in young children and pregnant women. Renal failure is considered to be another symptom related to malaria.
But scientists take another shot at malaria, hoping that they will succeed in preventing other severe complications such as encephalopathy, spontaneous bleeding or other coagulopathies.
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