

Researchers Believe They Have Found a Single Dose Cure for Malaria - uptown
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/08/29/university-of-cape-town-researchers-believe-they-have-found-a-single-dose-cure-for-malaria/

======
tokenadult
I looked up other news stories about this. Two I found added a few details to
the blog post kindly submitted here.

[http://scienceblog.com/56297/african-antimalarial-
research-b...](http://scienceblog.com/56297/african-antimalarial-research-
bears-first-fruit/)

[http://contractresearch.pharmaceutical-business-
review.com/n...](http://contractresearch.pharmaceutical-business-
review.com/news/mmv-selects-uct-developed-anti-malaria-molecule-for-clinical-
trials-290812)

All the news stories so far are based mostly on a press release about the
chemical moving into preclinical trials. The chemical is part of a category of
chemicals with significant toxicity,

[http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf...](http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/Chem_Background/ExSumPdf/aminopyridines.pdf)

and it is VERY early in the stages of investigation to know whether or not
this chemical, when used as a medically prescribed drug, will have benefits
for malaria patients that outweigh whatever risks it may have. Effective drug
therapies for infection by the malaria parasite are an important ongoing area
of research, but as each new preliminary finding is reported, it is important
to keep in mind the "Warning Signs in Experimental Design and Interpretation"

<http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html>

written about by Peter Norvig, Google's director of research, and to check for
follow-up research that shows actual clinical benefit in well controlled
trials of human patients.

See also the recent blog post from the Science-Based Medicine group blog by a
medical doctor, "Related by coincidence only? University and medical journal
press releases versus journal articles,"

[http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/related-by-
coi...](http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/related-by-coincidence-
only-journal-press-releases-versus-journal-articles/)

on the distinction between press releases and peer-reviewed scientific journal
articles, and what each promises and what each delivers.

~~~
ohashi
Thank you for taking the time to help educate us on the issue. It's comments
like this that make me love reading the comments on HN. It reads like this
wonderful discovery but someone has taken the time to dissect it and actually
explain what's going on for those of us who don't really have a complete
understanding.

------
jboggan
I really think that DDT was needlessly discarded as a vector extermination
agent. Actual research (instead of literary hyperbole) suggests that the
effect on bird eggs and humans was not as severe as once supposed. How many
have died of malaria in the past 40 years in areas that were once malaria-
free? Off-hand I think the number is in the millions.

~~~
ianb
Added to that, DDT was being used in very high amounts as a pesticide, but
didn't need to be used in nearly as high levels for suppressing malaria.

Resistance to DDT has formed anyway:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT#Mosquito_resistance> – though again this is
because of agricultural use, not from disease prevention use.

On the other hand, it's not that clear to me that DDT has actually been
discarded?

------
brudgers
The University of Cape Town research was done in colaboration with Medicines
for Malarial Venture which has received $336 million in funding from the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation since 2005.

MMV Press Release:
[http://www.mmv.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/news/Afr...](http://www.mmv.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/news/African%20research%20identifies%20strong%20candidate%20for%20possible%20single-
dose%20malaria%20cure.pdf)

Background on research team:
[http://www.mmv.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/news/Bac...](http://www.mmv.org/sites/default/files/uploads/docs/news/Background_MMV390048.pdf)

Search Gates Foundation grants:
<http://www.gatesfoundation.org/grants/Pages/search.aspx>

~~~
hcrisp
Reminds me of the quote that decades from now, no one will from Africa will
remember who Steve Jobs was, but they will know Bill Gates as the man who
funded the research that saved millions of lives. Can't remember the exact
words or who said it...

------
petegrif
If true this would be of phenomenal benefit and this alone could boost the
economies of whole regions of Africa.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
A protection against HIV would also do this, if only.

~~~
jonny_eh
One medical miracle per day. That's the rule.

------
harrisreynolds
I would love to see some research about low dose chlorine dioxide and it's
effect on parasites like malaria. ClO2 is a strong oxidizer and in very low
doses can kill pathogens without causing harm to the body; incidentally, ClO2
is used on our food while washing it.

Note that by very low doses I mean one to two drops per 8oz of water.

The ClO2 is cheap though and would cause some drug companies to lose a large
amount of revenue if it were proven to be effective in killing a wide range of
pathogens. I'd love it if there were more research in this area.

~~~
tokenadult
[http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/bleaching-
away...](http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/bleaching-away-what-
ails-you/)

~~~
harrisreynolds
Typical FUD. Where is the research? Start with animals like you do with
everything, and RESEARCH it. Don't just dismiss it with labels like bleach
when you have no idea what kind of action it has. The action of ClO2 is
different than that of Chlorine bleach; it oxidizes instead of chlorinates!!

People need to understand some basic chemistry instead of regurgitating buzz
words (like bleach); and we need real research, not just empty words.

~~~
tokenadult
Are you seriously advocating INTERNAL use of ClO2 in living human patients who
have been infected by the malaria parasites, which is the topic of the
submitted article that opened this thread? Remember that for in-vivo
experimentation, even for in-vivo experimentation on animals before
experimenting on human patients, it is only ethical to perform the experiment
if there is prior probability of therapeutic effect without undue harm to the
patient. Where is there any evidence whatsoever that ClO2 is effective without
undue harm when used as an internal medicine?

And as for understanding basic chemistry, my late father the chemistry major
(who performed experiments at home with me as a child, and who was my mentor
in the philosophy of science) would be APPALLED at not noticing the
distinction between using chemicals outside the human body as disinfectants
and using them as internal medicines in living human beings.

~~~
sp332
_Are you seriously advocating INTERNAL use of ClO2 in living human patients_

No. Did you even read the GP? He said (even in caps) he's looking for
"RESEARCH". Also, you don't need a whole animal to do the first tests, you
just need a tissue or blood sample from an infected animal to test
effectiveness vs. toxicity, and go from there.

~~~
jlgreco
What he is really looking for is a conspiracy. These alternative medicine
quacks all claim they just want their product (and it _always_ is already a
product...) researched. When asked why they don't have it researched, like any
other prospective treatment is, they drop hints at "big pharmacy" silencing
them (as you can see he has done in his original post).

The entire point is to turn the lack of evidence into evidence of its
effectiveness.

