June 8, 2015 – A new study appearing in the journal PLOS Pathogens last month demonstrates that the drug sildenafil, known popularly as Viagra, could prevent malaria transmission.
Why?
Because the drug changes the physiology of red blood cells infected by plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that mosquitoes transmit to us to cause malaria. Viagra stiffens red blood cell walls deforming them. That flags the cells for destruction when filtered through the spleen.
Malaria cases in 2013 were close to 200 million with almost 600,000 dying from the disease annually.
The authors of the paper are not advocating we treat susceptible populations with Viagra. But they are arguing that drugs that cause deformation in red blood cells could prove to be a novel way to fight those diseases that are blood borne.
Maybe we can invent a Viagra that doesn’t have the extra side effect, you know the one that treats erectile dysfunction.
Related articles across the web
Related Posts
OpenAI’s o1 Scores 120 in Mensa Test and What This Means for Humanity
One Thing Is Certain – When It Comes To Cosmology And The Universe Nothing Is Certain
ExxonMobil Seabed Lease For Carbon Storage Does Little To Mitigate Global Warming
Governments Spending $7 Trillion Annually To Subsidize Fossil Fuels
As 2024 Comes to a Close What is the Current Capacity of Carbon Capture Projects Worldwide?
Blood Transfusion Compatibility Research Leads to the Discovery of New Protein Markers
To Understand Where Climate Priorities Are Headed Track The Insurance Industry And Government Announcements
Life On Mars – Present Today Or Only In The Past
