A serious nightmare: psychiatric and neurologic adverse reactions to mefloquine are serious adverse reactions

Gut microbial β-glucuronidases influence endobiotic homeostasis and are modulated by diverse therapeutics

Hormones and neurotransmitters are essential to homeostasis, and their disruptions are connected to diseases ranging from cancer to anxiety. The differential reactivation of endobiotic glucuronides by gut microbial β-glucuronidase (GUS) enzymes may influence interindividual differences in the onset and treatment of disease. Using multi-omic, in vitro, and in vivo approaches, we show that germ-free mice have reduced levels of active endobiotics and that distinct gut microbial Loop 1 and FMN GUS enzymes drive hormone and neurotransmitter reactivation. We demonstrate that a range of FDA-approved drugs prevent this reactivation by intercepting the catalytic cycle of the enzymes in a conserved fashion. Finally, we find that inhibiting GUS in conventional mice reduces free serotonin and increases its inactive glucuronide in the serum and intestines. Our results illuminate the indispensability of gut microbial enzymes in sustaining endobiotic homeostasis and indicate that therapeutic disruptions of this metabolism promote interindividual response variabilities.

Fatal case of delayed-onset haemolytic anaemia after oral artemether-lumefantrine

Artemisinin derivatives are used globally in the management of falciparum malaria. Postartemisinin delayed haemolysis (PADH) is a recognised adverse event contributing to severe anaemia. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first recorded fatal case of PADH. A 60-year-old woman presented with two episodes of collapse at home and feeling generally unwell. She had recently been treated for uncomplicated falciparum malaria 1 month prior with artemether 80 mg/lumefantrine 480 mg in Congo. Her results on admission revealed an anaemia (haemoglobin 43 g/L), raised lactate dehydrogenase and positive direct antiglobulin test that suggested an intravascular haemolytic process. She made a capacitous decision to refuse blood products in line with her personal beliefs. Despite best supportive treatment, she did not survive. This case highlights the importance of postartemisinin follow-up and should encourage discussion and careful consideration of its use in the context of lack of access to/patient refusal of blood products.

Potential Anti-COVID-19 Therapeutics that Block the Early Stage of the Viral Life Cycle: Structures, Mechanisms, and Clinical Trials

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is being caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease continues to present significant challenges to the health care systems around the world. This is primarily because of the lack of vaccines to protect against the infection and the lack of highly effective therapeutics to prevent and/or treat the illness. Nevertheless, researchers have swiftly responded to the pandemic by advancing old and new potential therapeutics into clinical trials. In this review, we summarize potential anti-COVID-19 therapeutics that block the early stage of the viral life cycle. The review presents the structures, mechanisms, and reported results of clinical trials of potential therapeutics that have been listed in clinicaltrials.gov. Given the fact that some of these therapeutics are multi-acting molecules, other relevant mechanisms will also be described. The reviewed therapeutics include small molecules and macromolecules of sulfated polysaccharides, polypeptides, and monoclonal antibodies. The potential therapeutics target viral and/or host proteins or processes that facilitate the early stage of the viral infection. Frequent targets are the viral spike protein, the host angiotensin converting enzyme 2, the host transmembrane protease serine 2, and clathrin-mediated endocytosis process. Overall, the review aims at presenting update-to-date details, so as to enhance awareness of potential therapeutics, and thus, to catalyze their appropriate use in combating the pandemic.

The Use of Antimalarial Drugs against Viral Infection

In recent decades, drugs used to treat malaria infection have been shown to be beneficial for many other diseases, including viral infections. In particular, they have received special attention due to the lack of effective antiviral drugs against new emerging viruses (i.e., HIV, dengue virus, chikungunya virus, Ebola virus, etc.) or against classic infections due to drug-resistant viral strains (i.e., human cytomegalovirus). Here, we reviewed the in vitro/in vivo and clinical studies conducted to evaluate the antiviral activities of four classes of antimalarial drugs: Artemisinin derivatives, aryl-aminoalcohols, aminoquinolines, and antimicrobial drugs.

Imported malaria in northern Italy: epidemiology and clinical features observed over 18 years in the Teaching Hospital of Brescia

BACKGROUND

Even though malaria incidence is decreasing worldwide, travel-related cases reported in Europe have remained stable in recent years. In Italy, incidence had increased in the 1990s, reaching a peak in 1999; a slow decline was then reported over the subsequent decade. To our knowledge, few published data are available on imported malaria in Italy since 2010. In this article we aimed to analyse trends in imported malaria in the teaching hospital of Brescia, northern Italy, over the last 18 years.

METHODS

All malaria cases diagnosed from 1999 to 2016 in Spedali Civili Hospital, Brescia, were retrospectively identified. Demographic, clinical and travel-related data were described.

RESULTS

A total of 1200 cases of imported malaria were diagnosed in Brescia during the study period. Among them, 225 were children. A trend of increasing paediatric cases was identified over the study period, while cases in adults were stable. Most cases were diagnosed between August and October. Patients were most likely exposed in sub-Saharan Africa (87.2%). The main reported travel reason was travelling to visit friends and relatives (66.0%). A significantly higher risk of severe malaria was observed in non-immune patients and children visiting friend and relatives (P < 0.001 and P = 0.006, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study reveals a relatively stable incidence in imported malaria cases with a peak during the summertime. A large and increasing paediatric burden of disease was identified. Imported malaria requires attention since in Italy a potential reappearance of autochthonous Plasmodium vivax malaria transmission cannot be excluded. Preventive action and physician awareness should be especially directed to children visiting friends and relatives in endemic countries and to non-immune patients since they both represent high-risk groups for severe malaria.

A serious nightmare: psychiatric and neurologic adverse reactions to mefloquine are serious adverse reactions

Mefloquine (originally marketed as Lariam) is a neurotoxic quinoline derivative antimalarial drug that is known to cause serious and potentially lasting neuropsychiatric adverse reactions. Since 2013, drug regulators in several jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, have required their mefloquine labels be updated to warn that when used for malaria prophylaxis the drug should be discontinued at the onset of neurologic or psychiatric symptoms. These recent changes to the international labeling serve to imply that psychiatric and neurologic reactions to mefloquine prophylaxis may be an early warning of an impending more serious reaction that may further jeopardize the patient with continued use of the drug. To prevent these more serious effects, these drug labels now warn that mefloquine should be discontinued and that patients seek immediate medical intervention to obtain an alternative antimalarial drug when psychiatric or neurologic symptoms occur. When used correctly for malaria prophylaxis as the updated labeling now directs, it is reasonable to expect that mefloquine will be discontinued, and an alternative drug substituted, in each patient who develops psychiatric or neurologic symptoms. This opinion discusses the implications of this updated labeling for the reporting of adverse reactions and for the continued use of the drug in malaria prophylaxis.