Publication: Aptamer Technology: Adjunct Therapy for Malaria
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Date
2018-10
Authors
Kamarudin, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik
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Abstract
Malaria is a life-threatening parasitic infection occurring in the endemic areas, primarily
in children under the age of five, pregnant women, and patients with human immunodeficiency
virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV)/(AIDS) as well as non-immune individuals.
The cytoadherence of infected erythrocytes (IEs) to the host endothelial surface receptor is a known
factor that contributes to the increased prevalence of severe malaria cases due to the accumulation of
IEs, mainly in the brain and other vital organs. Therefore, further study is needed to discover a new
potential anti-adhesive drug to treat severe malaria thus reducing its mortality rate. In this review,
we discuss how the aptamer technology could be applied in the development of a new adjunct
therapy for current malaria treatment.