New Treatment for Parasitic Diseases Tested

A new treatment can be effective against parasitic diseases, which cause more than 50,000 fatalities a year worldwide, said sources today.

Developed by researchers at the Novartis Genomics Institute in the United States, the drug has proven its positive effect in mice against Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and African trypanosomiasis, which affect 20 million people in the world.

Specialists, after testing some three million candidates, found an effective compound, called GNF6702, able to selectively block the actions of parasites, said the research published by the journal Nature.

Jeremy, one of the authors, said that it is a step forward in understanding the parasites that cause those three diseases and, potentially, it will provide the cure for them.

According to the source, the project is at an early stage and the team will advance to the toxicological tests before testing in humans.