Liquid chromatography used to confirm artemether action in Pakistani men

The efficacy of the anti-malarial drug artemether-lumefantrine in Pakistani men has been studied using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Published in Malaria Journal, the findings arise from research conducted by a team from the National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad, Mahidol University in Bangkok and the University of Oxford.

They used LC-MS to quantify levels of artemether and dihydroartemisinin - its active metabolite - in the blood plasma of 12 male Pakistani participants aged between 20 and 50 who had received artemether-lumefantrine.

Artemether-lumefantrine is used to treat uncomplicated falciparum malaria with excellent cure rates and tolerability in both children and adults, they explain.

In their research, they were able to confirm that the response in the Pakistani male population is in line with that of other individuals from around the world.

The news follows previous reports in Malaria Journal that signs of resistance to artesunate have been detected in Plasmodium falciparum malaria on the Thai-Myanmar border using LC-MS.