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Artemisinin Combination Treatment

Artemisinin is a naturally occurring compound found in a plant called the sweet wormwood bush (Artemisia annua). It has been used in Chinese medicine as a fever cure for more than 500 years. In modern times, purified forms of artemisinin are used as a main ingredient in several antimalarial medications. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) uses additional medications to strengthen artemisinin's malaria-fighting capabilities.

  1. Understanding Artemisinin Use

    • If you suffer from the effects of malaria, you may receive any one of a number of treatments for your symptoms. Traditional medications for this purpose include quinine, chloroquine, doxycycline, mefloquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. While these drugs are effective to varying degrees, their usefulness has been eclipsed by oral doses of artemisinin. Among its benefits are a rapid decrease of malaria symptoms, direct and rapid reduction of the underlying malaria parasite (Plasmodium falciparum), and the ability to achieve positive results when drug-resistant forms of the disease are present. Artemisinin is available in several chemical forms, including artemether, artesunate, dihydroartemisinin and arteether.

    ACT Treatment

    • While artemisinin is highly effective, its actions in your body are short-lived. If you are given an artemisinin compound without additional drug reinforcement, it will stay in your body for roughly three days and eliminate substantial amounts of P. falciparum during that time. However, P. falciparum is capable of lingering deep in your liver for longer than three days, and it may emerge to reinfect your body after all artemisinin has left your system.

      ACT is specifically designed to address this problem. By combining an artemisinin compound with a second, longer-acting antimalarial drug, ACT allows doctors to combat the lingering effects of any P. falciparum left in your body. According to the service organization Medicines for Malaria Venture, this combined approach provides the most effective malaria treatment currently available.

      The only ACT treatment approved by the FDA for use in the United States is a commercial product called Coartem. It combines artemether with a broad-spectrum antibiotic called lumefantrine. If you take Coartem, lumefantrine will attack any parasites not killed by artemether for roughly one week. Typically, this is a sufficient time frame to remove all P. falciparum from your system. In addition to adults, Coartem is approved for children weighing eleven pounds or more. The FDA recommends that you take Coartem with food that contains fat in order to maximize its absorption. Potential side effects associated with Coartem use for adults include headache, dizziness, muscle pain, physical weakness and joint pain. Potential side effects in children include vomiting, coughing, fever, headache and loss of appetite. Consult your doctor if these complications occur.

    Inappropriate Use of ACT

    • Be aware that Coartem will not prevent malaria from developing. Additionally, it should not be used if you show signs of severe malaria, including altered consciousness and certain complications in your metabolism or organ function. If you exhibit these signs, intravenous therapy is the preferred treatment option.

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