Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0024530 (malaria)
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It has been proposed recently that translation of fructose-1,6-diphosphate aldolase of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is initiated at a UAG codon, both in the parasite and in a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free translation system. We have introduced mutations around that UAG codon and find that cell-free expression of a construct encoding an AUG in this position results in a slightly larger translation product. The translation product of the construct encoding the UAG codon is of the same apparent molecular weight as the products obtained from two other constructs; one in which the UAG is replaced by AAG, and one in which nucleotides upstream from a second AUG codon are deleted. Thus we show that translation is not initiated at the UAG and conclude that synthesis of aldolase in the parasite starts at an AUG, provided after splicing of pre-mRNA.
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PMID:In vitro translation of Plasmodium falciparum aldolase is not initiated at an unusual site. 191 82

This paper suggests that the 'other diseases' of Millennium Development Goal 6 (MDG 6) are ignored by policy-makers and politicians who overfocus on unachievable objectives and targets around the 'big three' diseases of HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria, which if the planet was viewed by aliens would be seen as the only diseases that existed on the planet. The diseases of the majority of the poor represent 'low hanging fruit' for control and elimination and opportunities are ignored despite the availability of cheap or donated drugs and ample evidence that such interventions are effective and reduce incidence, as well as mortality and morbidity. The time frame available to achieve the MDGs of some 7-8 years requires a re-evaluation of what can be done with the tools available now and which can address the problems faced by the majority of poor people afflicted by disabling conditions which together represent a global burden greater than malaria or TB. The author considers also the volume of research relevant to the MDGs and their achievement is distorted by the focus on high tech end research which cannot be delivered by 2015 and that in terms of the 90:10 gap in research relevant to the problems of the poorest the real gap is 99:1. The concepts of distortion of donor funding for diseases of MDG 6 for implementation of largely curative interventions which do not reduce incidence as well as research which addresses problems that cannot reach poor people in the time frame to 2015 is emphasised. New paradigms are required if any impact on MDG 6 is to be achieved recognising the needs of the majority via an equitable distribution of funding.
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PMID:Combating the "other diseases" of MDG 6: changing the paradigm to achieve equity and poverty reduction? 1841 78

Since their adoption in 2000 by the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals set for 2015 appear to have become a part of the policy agenda of all of the member states. Three of these eight objectives deal with health issues. "Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases": this is the formulation of the sixth MDG. Observing that in many countries strongly affected by poverty and inequalities, the epidemic continues to spread, without really reversing at all, and that access to antiretrovirals is possible for only a small proportion of the patient who need them, we consider the problems of global governance in the field of health. Our intention is to explain that the failure to deal with the HIV/AIDS epidemic may constitute an obstacle to the achievement of the MDGs by 2015. Proposing a comprehensive sociology of HIV/AIDS, this article pays special attention to the dimension of the meaning of the disease, simultaneously as a policy issue, a social construction, and an object of study in the social sciences. Looking at the two countries most affected by the epidemic in Africa and in the Caribbean, we examine the different aspects that have determined the failure of governance and the effects of this failure on the populations concerned. The excessive conflictuality in South Africa and the biopolitics of "let them die" and the fragmentation of the networks involved in the combat in Haiti are considered to have contributed to a crisis in the epidemic's governance. In both cases, the consequences have been expressed by a reduced life expectancy, insufficient access to antiretroviral drugs, reinforcement of the socioeconomic inequalities of health, the production of new pockets of poverty, more fragile household and national economies, an increase in maternal and child mortality ... The failure of the governance of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in countries such as Haiti and South Africa appears to foretell the impossibility of achieving the MDGs by 2015.
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PMID:[HIV/AIDS in South Africa and Haiti: the failure of epidemic governance and achievement of the MDGs]. 2018 88

This textual analyses on Social marketing, Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) and Population Services International (PSI) were undertaken to achieve two objectives: (a) to contribute to the continuing debate and search for a better strategy for combating malaria in sub-Saharan Africa; and (b) to contribute to theory building on social marketing. The analyses revealed that Malaria has reached an epidemic proportion and despite major inroads by PSI in combating malaria on the principles of social marketing, the strategies of pricing and segmentation of the clients are not appropriate for Sub-Saharan African countries that are mired in absolute poverty where majority of the rural communities eke a living on less than a dollar per day and the health sector does not receive priority attention from policy makers and politicians. The descriptive statistics and a one sample t test for the sampled countries suggest that sub-Saharan countries have not even met the hypothesized 5% investment of their GDP on health, compared to their counterparts, the developed countries, who are all above this figure. The null hypothesis that there is no significant different between the population and the sample means of both developed and a developing country in their investments in the health sector was also tested and rejected. Though the elements in some of the existent models and theories of social marketing such as Health Belief Model, Theory of Reasoned Action, Social Cognitive Theory and Trans-theoretical Models all attempt to advocate for elimination of constraints and barriers to effective access to a service or product, PSI is adamant to these and try to generalize these principles in all contexts, including in Sub-Saharan Africa. The African scenario, where about 90% of Malaria related deaths cases in the world occur, demands more than what these theories present. Accordingly, it was concluded that however good intentioned social marketing is, in the case of ITNs in this region, it is counter productive as the pricing de-motivates clients who usually have other pressing needs to address and segmentation limits coverage. Social marketing is thus more relevant to developed economies where absolute poverty no longer exist and people can afford to pay for health services. Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa needs a "carpet bombing" strategy. It was also concluded that for Sub-Saharan countries to effectively address the MDG six on malaria, and implement the Abuja Summit and the Roll Back Malaria partnership declarations, it requires a high degree of political commitment, amongst others, to enable the vulnerable communities have access to free malaria treatment related drugs. Partners in the fight against malaria such as PSI should adopt a more eclectic intervention strategy, and be cognizant of the fact that the strategy that works for Africa should be that which is based on strict equity and stimulates demand for ITNs. The paper concludes by agreeing with Professors Curtis and Sachs that comprehensive malaria control in Africa is achievable by 2010, at the minimal cost if sound principles of public health and economics are observed. Millions of lives can be saved and Africa will be given vital help in escaping from the viscous circle of poverty and diseases that continue to grip the continent. The target for all intervention efforts should be to eliminate the cost factor and ensure free distribution of all malaria related treatment products.
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PMID:Social marketing and the fight against malaria in Africa: population services international (PSI) and insecticide treated nets (ITNS). 2080 27

The sixth MDG aims 'to combat HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria and other diseases'. The residual category of 'other diseases' has become the focus of intense interest, partly because it has provided an opportunity to increase resources for the control of the mostly parasitic 'neglected tropical diseases' (NTDs). Intense lobbying has secured large amounts of funding from donors, as well as generous donations of medicines from the major drug companies. A massive programme is now underway to treat the parasites of the poor in Africa via integrated vertical interventions of mass drug administration in endemic areas. The approach has been hailed as remarkably effective, with claims that there is now a real prospect of complete control and, for some NTDs, even elimination. However, a closer look at evaluation and research data reveals that much less is known about what is being achieved than is suggested. Competition between implementing organisations is leading to potentially counterproductive exaggerations about treatment coverage. Detailed local-level research in Uganda and Tanzania shows that actual rates of drug take-up among target populations are often lower than is necessary to effectively control the diseases, and that methods of drug distribution may even lead to active resistance to treatment. If current trends are not corrected, declining rates of NTD infection will not be sustained. Much more rigorous and effective monitoring is essential.
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PMID:The "other diseases" of the Millennium Development Goals: rhetoric and reality of free drug distribution to cure the poor's parasites. 2159 2

Member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) met in Alma Ata (8-12 September 1978) to define and advocate the implementation of primary health care (PHC) worldwide, above all, in developing countries, which had a real need to review their strategies for meeting the health needs of their populations. They did not suspect that 20 years later the vision they displayed would remain undeniably relevant. Here we examine the similarities and points of convergence of their declaration about PHC with the Millennium Development Goals that seek today to reduce poverty across the world. An exhaustive and analytic literature review was conducted to collect those similarities. Further analysis of the definitions, objectives, principles and recommendations of the Alma Ata Declaration and the Millennium Declaration reveals multiple dependencies and fundamental points of similarity between these two representations. Almost all states have pledged to achieve the eight MDG by 2015: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. The Alma Ata conference defined primary health care as essential health care, based on practical methods and techniques that are both scientifically sound and socially acceptable, universally accessible to all individuals and all families of the community, through their full participation and at a cost that the community and countries can afford at all stages of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination. It is an integral part of economic and social development. The following principles are involved in the achievement of both primary health care and the MDG: social equity, community participation, and intersectorality. Public health is an essential condition of poverty eradication and MDG achievement. Public health issues are central to the problem of sustainable development and must therefore remain the focus of attention. It is increasingly urgent to break the vicious circle created by the close correlation between environmental degradation, poor health, and poverty.
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PMID:[Primary health care and the millennium development goals]. 2286 17

A recent UNICEF report Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed Progress Report 2013 presents a comprehensive analysis of levels and trends in child mortality and progress towards MDG 4. The global under-five mortality rate has been cut nearly in half (47%) since 1990. However, during this same period, 216 million children are estimated to have died before their fifth birthday. Most of these deaths were from leading infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea or malaria, or were caused by preventable neonatal causes such as those related to intra-partum complications. The highest mortality rates in the world are observed in low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a particular challenge in that it not only has the highest under-five mortality in the world but it also has the fastest population growth. Progress is possible, however, and sharp reductions in child mortality have been observed at all levels of national income and in all regions. Some of the world's poorest countries in terms of national income have made the strongest gains in child survival. Within countries, new analysis suggests that disparities in under-five mortality between the richest and the poorest households have declined in most regions of the world, with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, under-five mortality rates have fallen even among the poorest households in all regions. The report highlights the growing importance of neonatal deaths; roughly 44% of global under-five deaths - now 2.9 million a year - occur during the neonatal period, with up to 50% dying during their first day of life and yet over two-thirds of these deaths are preventable without intensive care. The report stresses how a continuum of care approach across the whole life cycle is the most powerful way of understanding and accelerating further progress.
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PMID:Child survival: a message of hope but a call for renewed commitment in UNICEF report. 2432 85