WeeK 8: lessons 22, 23, 24 Anti-protozoal drugs

Protozoal infections are common among people in underdeveloped tropical and subtropical countries, where sanitary conditions, hygienic practices, and control of the vectors of transmission are inadequate. However, with increased world travel, protozoal diseases, such as malaria, amebiasis, leishmaniasis, trypanosomiasis, trichomoniasis, and giardiasis, are no longer confined to specific geographic locales. Because they are eukaryotes, the unicellular protozoal cells have metabolic processes closer to those of the human host than to prokaryotic bacterial pathogens. Therefore, protozoal diseases are less easily treated than bacterial infections, and many of the antiprotozoal drugs cause serious toxic effects in the host, particularly on cells showing high metabolic activity, such as neuronal, renal tubular, intestinal, and bone marrow stem cells. Most antiprotozoal agents have not proved to be safe for pregnant patients

Download Files

part-2-anti-protozoal.docx (0.02 MB )