Antiprotozoal
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Antiprotozoal agent
) | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
Antiprotozoal agents (
pharmaceuticals used in treatment of protozoan infection
.
A
Homo sapiens (humans), which also belongs to the unikont phylogenetic group, than it is to Naegleria fowleri, a "protozoan" bikont. As a result, agents effective against one pathogen may not be effective against another.[citation needed
]
Antiprotozoal agents can be grouped by mechanism[1] or by organism.[2] Recent papers have also proposed the use of viruses to treat infections caused by protozoa.[3][4]
Overuse or misuse of antiprotozoals can lead to the development of antiprotozoal resistance.[5]
Medical uses
Antiprotozoals are used to treat protozoal infections, which include
amebiasis, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, microsporidiosis, malaria, babesiosis, trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, and toxoplasmosis.[6] Currently, many of the treatments for these infections are limited by their toxicity.[7]
Outdated terminology
eukaryota which includes protozoa
.
Mechanism
The mechanisms of antiprotozoal drugs differ significantly drug to drug. For example, it appears that eflornithine, a drug used to treat trypanosomiasis, inhibits ornithine decarboxylase, while the aminoglycoside antibiotic/antiprotozoals used to treat leishmaniasis are thought to inhibit protein synthesis.[8]
Examples
- Eflornithine
- Furazolidone
- Hydroxychloroquine
- Melarsoprol
- Metronidazole
- Nifursemizone
- Nitazoxanide
- Ornidazole
- Paromomycin sulfate
- Pentamidine
- Pyrimethamine
- Quinapyramine
- Ronidazole
- Tinidazole
References
- ISBN 978-1-893441-37-8. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ISBN 978-0-07-148869-3. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- PMID 23841627.
- PMID 23540830.
- ISSN 1360-2276.
- PMID 7553575.
- ISSN 1871-5214.
- PMID 23734876.
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