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Thomas W. Sheehy, MD; Hugh Dempsey, MD, FRCP(C)

JAMA. 1970;214(1):109-114.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

Among the more promising groups of drugs undergoing evaluation as antimalarial agents are the folic acid antagonists. These agents destroy plasmodia presumably by competitive inhibition of dihydrofolate reductase, the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of dihydrofolic acid to metabolically active tetrahydrofolic acid. This reaction is necessary for nucleic acid synthesis and cell mitosis.^1-3 Pyrimethamine (2, 4-diamino-5-[p - chlorophenyl]- 6 - ethylprimi dine) and chloroguanide (N¹- [pchlorophenyl]- N⁵ - isopropyldiguanide) have been used extensively for malarial chemoprophylaxis and treatment during the past 20 years; only recently they have been recognized as folic acid antagonists. Unfortunately, these agents are too slow acting to be used for treatment of established infections with Plasmodium falciparum. Their use in such cases may lead to a fatal outcome for the patient or to the development of resistant strains.⁴

In addition to these observations, the appearance of chloroquine-resistant falciparum malaria in many . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Medicine, Nutrition Division, College of Medicine, University of Alabama Medical Center, Birmingham.

Footnotes
Authorized for publication by the Council on Foods and Nutrition, Philip L. White, ScD, Secretary.

Reprint requests to AMA Department of Foods and Nutrition, 535 N Dearborn St, Chicago 60610.

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