Fast-Killing Tyrosine Amide ((S)-SW228703) with Blood- and Liver-Stage Antimalarial Activity Associated with the Cyclic Amine Resistance Locus (PfCARL)

Bibliometric analysis of antimalarial drug resistance

Background

Malaria has always been a serious infectious disease prevalent in the world. Antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine and artemisinin have been the main compounds used to treat malaria. However, the massive use of this type of drugs accelerates the evolution and spread of malaria parasites, leading to the development of resistance. A large number of related data have been published by researchers in recent years. CiteSpace software has gained popularity among us researchers in recent years, because of its ability to help us obtain the core information we want in a mass of articles. In order to analyze the hotspots and develop trends in this field through visual analysis, this study used CiteSpace software to summarize the available data in the literature to provide insights.

Method

Relevant literature was collected from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) from 1 January 2015 to 29 March 2023. CiteSpace software and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze and present the data, respectively.

Results

A total of 2,561 literatures were retrieved and 2,559 literatures were included in the analysis after the removal of duplicates. An irrefutable witness of the ever-growing interest in the topic of antimalarial drug resistance could be expressed by the exponentially increased number of publications and related citations from 2015 to 2022, and its sustained growth trend by 2023. During the past 7 years, USA, Oxford University, and David A Fidock are the country, institution, and author with the most publications in this field of research, respectively. We focused on the references and keywords from literature and found that the research and development of new drugs is the newest hotspot in this field. A growing number of scientists are devoted to finding new antimalarial drugs.

Conclusion

This study is the first visual metrological analysis of antimalarial drug resistance, using bibliometric methods. As a baseline information, it is important to analyze research output published globally on antimalarial drug resistance. In order to better understand the current research situation and future research plan agenda, such baseline data are needed accordingly.

Promising antimalarial hits from phenotypic screens: a review of recently-described multi-stage actives and their modes of action

Over the last two decades, global malaria cases caused by Plasmodium falciparum have declined due to the implementation of effective treatments and the use of insecticides. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruption in the timely delivery of medical goods and diverted public health resources, impairing malaria control. The emergence of resistance to all existing frontline antimalarials underpins an urgent need for new antimalarials with novel mechanisms of action. Furthermore, the need to reduce malaria transmission and/or prevent malaria infection has shifted the focus of antimalarial research towards the discovery of compounds that act beyond the symptomatic blood stage and also impact other parasite life cycle stages. Phenotypic screening has been responsible for the majority of new antimalarial lead compounds discovered over the past 10 years. This review describes recently reported novel antimalarial hits that target multiple parasite stages and were discovered by phenotypic screening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their modes of action and targets in blood stage parasites are also discussed.