Title:Advances in Drug Discovery against Neglected Tropical Diseases: Human African and American Trypanosomiasis
Volume: 28
Issue: 36
Author(s): Mudasir Nabi Peerzada, Aysha Gaur and Amir Azam*
Affiliation:
- Medicinal Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi-110025,India
Keywords:
Human African trypanosomiasis, chagas disease, pathogens, treatment regimens, drug development,
Trypanosoma cruzi.
Abstract: Human African and American trypanosomiasis are the vector-borne parasitic
diseases that have killed millions of people early, and many people are yet suffering from
these neglected diseases. The causative agents of these infections are parasitic protozoans
of the genus Trypanosoma. Current treatment regimens against these endemic diseases
have several limitations in terms of safety, efficacy, route of administration, and some of
them have lost efficacy due to the emergence of resistance in their respective parasites. In
this review, the most promising compounds identified by different strategies of drug development
against these neglected diseases including target-based approach, the phenotypic
high-throughput screening, the drug repurposing approach and combination therapy
are emphasized. The potent heterocyclic compounds currently undergoing pre-clinical or
clinical studies have also been assessed to ascertain an effective class of organic compounds
having significant therapeutic potential against these tropical diseases. The molecular
hybridization of outlined motifs may result in more active compounds and circumvent
the development of resistance by specific targets in future.
