SCIENTISTS at the University of York say they are a step closer to providing treatments for three “neglected” diseases after making a chemical which can kill the parasites that cause them.
Chagas disease, leishmaniasis and human African trypanosomiasis (also known as sleeping sickness) affect 20 million people worldwide and lead to more than 50,000 deaths annually.
The scientists were able to identify an enzyme common to all three parasites which cause the infection and to develop a chemical that binds to the “target” and prevents it from functioning.
The research, which was led by scientists from the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF), included collaboration with colleagues at the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD), University of Washington and the University of Glasgow.
Professor Jeremy Mottram, of York, said: “It’s a breakthrough in our understanding of the parasites that cause the three diseases, potentially allowing them to be cured.”
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